Higher physical fitness levels are associated with less language decline in healthy ageing

Healthy ageing is associated with decline in cognitive abilities such as language. Aerobic fitness has been shown to ameliorate decline in some cognitive domains, but the potential benefits for language have not been examined. In a cross-sectional sample, we investigated the relationship between aer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2018-04, Vol.8 (1), p.6715-10, Article 6715
Main Authors: Segaert, K., Lucas, S. J. E., Burley, C. V., Segaert, P., Milner, A. E., Ryan, M., Wheeldon, L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/443/7
631/477/2811
Cardiorespiratory fitness
Cognitive ability
Humanities and Social Sciences
Language
multidisciplinary
Older people
Physical fitness
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Tongue
Young adults
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Summary:Healthy ageing is associated with decline in cognitive abilities such as language. Aerobic fitness has been shown to ameliorate decline in some cognitive domains, but the potential benefits for language have not been examined. In a cross-sectional sample, we investigated the relationship between aerobic fitness and tip-of-the-tongue states. These are among the most frequent cognitive failures in healthy older adults and occur when a speaker knows a word but is unable to produce it. We found that healthy older adults indeed experience more tip-of-the-tongue states than young adults. Importantly, higher aerobic fitness levels decrease the probability of experiencing tip-of-the-tongue states in healthy older adults. Fitness-related differences in word finding abilities are observed over and above effects of age. This is the first demonstration of a link between aerobic fitness and language functioning in healthy older adults.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-24972-1