Regular Aerobic Exercise Boosts Size of Hippocampus in Older Women

Researchers found that aerobic exercise may be beneficial for older women as it helps boost the size of the region of brain called hippocampus.

The health benefits of regular physical activity, especially for the aging people, are well documented. The latest study documented in the British Journal of Sports Medicine claims that regular aerobics exercise boosts the size the hippocampus, a region of the brain involved in verbal memory and learning. The association was most prominent among older women with decline in intellectual capacity.

The hippocampus has been a focus of interest in research studies centered on dementia as it is that particular region that is extremely sensitive to the effects of aging and neurological damage.

In this study, the researchers evaluated the impact of various types of exercise on the hippocampal volume of 86 women, aged 70-80 years, who reported having mild memory problems called mild cognitive impairment, one of the common risk factor of dementia. All these women were living independently at home.

As a part of the study, half of them were assigned to either two weekly hour-long session of aerobic training such as brisk walking or resistance training that included lunges, squats and weights or balance and muscle toning exercise. This was done for six months.

At the start and end of the study period, the researchers assessed the subjects' size of the hippocampus using an MRI scan. Using a validated test called RAVLT, the researchers assessed the subjects' verbal memory and learning capacity.  Out of the entire subjects, just 29 of them had before and after MRI scans. 

They noticed that the total volume of hippocampus among those who completed six months of aerobic training was drastically more when compared to those who did balance and muscle toning exercise.

The authors suggest that the association between brain volume and cognitive performance is complex and further research is needed to understand this link.

"But at the very least, aerobic exercise seems to be able to slow the shrinkage of the hippocampus and maintain the volume in a group of women who are at risk of developing dementia," the authors say.

The researchers suggest that older women should consider indulging in regular aerobic exercise to prevent mild cognitive decline.