Associations between level and change in physical function and brain volumes

• Published in: PloS one 2013-11, Vol.8 (11), p.e80386-e80386
• Main Authors: Aribisala, Benjamin S, Gow, Alan J, Bastin, Mark E, del Carmen Valdés Hernández, Maria, Murray, Catherine, Royle, Natalie A, Muñoz Maniega, Susana, Starr, John M, Deary, Ian J, Wardlaw, Joanna M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Age; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Analysis; Brain; Brain - anatomy & histology; Brain - physiology; Brain research; Cognition & reasoning; Cognition - physiology; Cognitive ability; Collaboration; Communities; Epidemiology; Exercise; Female; Fitness; Functional anatomy; Grip strength; Humans; Lesions; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Middle Aged; Motor Activity; Neurosciences; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Older people; Organ Size; Physical fitness; Principal components analysis; Risk Factors; Structure-function relationships; Studies; Substantia alba; Substantia grisea; Ventricle
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0080386

Higher levels of fitness or physical function are positively associated with cognitive outcomes but the potential underlying mechanisms via brain structure are still to be elucidated in detail. We examined associations between brain structure and physical function (contemporaneous and change over the previous three years) in community-dwelling older adults. Participants from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936 (N=694) underwent brain MRI at age 73 years to assess intracranial volume, and the volumes of total brain tissue, ventricles, grey matter, normal-appearing white matter, and white matter lesions. At ages 70 and 73, physical function was assessed by 6-meter walk, grip strength, and forced expiratory volume. A summary 'physical function factor' was derived from the individual measures using principal components analysis. Performance on each individual physical function measure declined across the three year interval (p