Kinesiology
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Item Physical Activity and Brain Function in Older Adults at Increased Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease(MDPI, 2013-01-14) Smith, J. Carson; Nielson, Kristy A.; Woodard, John L.; Seidenberg, Michael; Rao, Stephen M.Leisure-time physical activity (PA) and exercise training are known to help maintain cognitive function in healthy older adults. However, relatively little is known about the effects of PA on cognitive function or brain function in those at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease through the presence of the apolipoproteinE epsilon4 (APOE-ε4) allele, diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or the presence of metabolic disease. Here, we examine the question of whether PA and exercise interventions may differentially impact cognitive trajectory, clinical outcomes, and brain structure and function among individuals at the greatest risk for AD. The literature suggests that the protective effects of PA on risk for future dementia appear to be larger in those at increased genetic risk for AD. Exercise training is also effective at helping to promote stable cognitive function in MCI patients, and greater cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with greater brain volume in early-stage AD patients. In APOE-ε4 allele carriers compared to non-carriers, greater levels of PA may be more effective in reducing amyloid burden and are associated with greater activation of semantic memory-related neural circuits. A greater research emphasis should be placed on randomized clinical trials for exercise, with clinical, behavioral, and neuroimaging outcomes in people at increased risk for AD.Item The Influence of Family Dog Ownership and Parental Perceived Built Environment Measures on Children’s Physical Activity within the Washington, DC Area(MDPI, 2017-11-16) Roberts, Jennifer D.; Rodkey, Lindsey; Grisham, Cortney; Ray, RashawnSedentary behavior and physical inactivity are significant contributors to youth obesity in the United States. Neighborhood dog walking is an outlet for physical activity (PA). Therefore, understanding the relationship between built environment, dog ownership, and youth PA is essential. This study examined the influence of dog ownership and parental built environment perceptions on children’s PA in the Washington, D.C. area. In 2014, questionnaires were mailed to 2000 parents to assess family dog ownership; children’s outdoor dog walking or playing; and parental perceived built environment measures. Chi-square analyses examined differences in parental perceived built environment measures between children with and without family dogs. The sample included 144 children (50% female; average-age 9.7 years; 56.3% White; 23.7% African-American; 10.4% Asian-American; 29.9% owned dog). Only 13% and 5.6% of the children walked or played outdoors with the dog daily, respectively. A significantly greater proportion (p-value < 0.05) of parents who owned dogs recognized and observed some home built environment measures (e.g., traffic speed on most streets is 30 mph or less) that were PA -promoting for their children. Findings suggest that dog ownership may provide more positive parental perceptions of the neighborhood built environment, which supports children’s outdoor PA through dog walking and playing.Item Emotional processing and positive affect after acute exercise in healthy older adults(Wiley, 2023-06-12) Kommula, Yash; Purcell, Jeremy J.; Callow, Daniel D.; Won, Junyeon; Pena, Gabriel S.; Smith, J. CarsonThe well-elucidated improvement of mood immediately after exercise in older adults presumably involves adaptations in emotion-processing brain networks. However, little is known about effects of acute exercise on appetitive and aversive emotion-related network recruitment in older adults. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of acute exercise, compared to a seated rest control condition, on pleasant and unpleasant emotion-related regional activation in healthy older adults. Functional MRI data were acquired from 32 active older adults during blocked presentations of pleasant, neutral and unpleasant images from the International Affective Pictures System. fMRI data were collected after participants completed 30 min of moderate to vigorous intensity cycling or seated rest, performed in a counterbalanced order across separate days in a within-subject design. The findings suggest three ways that emotional processing in the brain may be different immediately after exercise (relative to immediately after rest): First, reduced demands on emotional regulation during pleasant emotional processing as indicated by lower precuneus activation for pleasant stimuli; second, reduced processing of negative emotional stimuli in visual association areas as indicated by lower activation for unpleasant stimuli in the bilateral fusiform and ITG; third, an increased recruitment in activation associated with regulating/inhibiting unpleasant emotional processing in the bilateral medial superior frontal gyrus (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex), angular gyri, supramarginal gyri, left cerebellar crus I/II and a portion of right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Overall, these findings support that acute exercise in active older adults alters activation in key emotional processing and regulating brain regions.Item Effects of acute aerobic exercise on mnemonic discrimination performance in older adults(Cambridge University Press, 2022-08-15) Callow, Daniel D.; Pena, Gabriel S.; Stark, Craig E. L.; Smith, J. CarsonObjectives:Ample evidence suggests exercise is beneficial for hippocampal function. Furthermore, a single session of aerobic exercise provides immediate benefits to mnemonic discrimination performance, a highly hippocampal-specific memory process, in healthy younger adults. However, it is unknown if a single session of aerobic exercise alters mnemonic discrimination in older adults, who generally exhibit greater hippocampal deterioration and deficits in mnemonic discrimination performance. Methods: We conducted a within subject acute exercise study in 30 cognitively healthy and physically active older adults who underwent baseline testing and then completed two experimental visits in which they performed a mnemonic discrimination task before and after either 30 min of cycling exercise or 30 min of seated rest. Linear mixed-effects analyses were conducted in which condition order and age were controlled, time (pre vs. post) and condition (exercise vs. rest) were modeled as fixed effects, and subject as a random effect. Results: No significant time by condition interaction effect was found for object recognition (p = .254, η2 =.01), while a significant reduction in interference was found for mnemonic discrimination performance following the exercise condition (p = .012, η2 =.07). A post-intervention only analysis indicated that there was no difference between condition for object recognition (p = .186, η2 =.06), but that participants had better mnemonic discrimination performance (p < .001, η2 =.22) following the exercise. Conclusions: Our results suggest a single session of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise may reduce interference and elicit better mnemonic discrimination performance in healthy older adults, suggesting benefits for hippocampal-specific memory function.Item Policing the Void: Recreation, Social Inclusion and the Baltimore Police Athletic League(Cogitatio, 2017-06-29) Bustad, Jacob J.; Andrews, David L.In this article, we explore the relationship between public recreation policy and planning and the transformation of urban governance in the context of the Police Athletic League centers in Baltimore, Maryland. In light of contemporary discussions of the role of youth programs for sport and physical activity within post-industrial cities, the origination, development, and eventual demise of Baltimore’s network of Police Activity League centers is an instructive, if disheartening, saga. It illustrates the social and political rationales mobilized in justifying recreation policy and programming, the framing of sport and physical activity as preventative measures towards crime and juvenile delinquency, and the precarity of such initiatives given the efficiency-driven orthodoxies of neoliberal urban entrepreneurialism (Harvey, 1989). This analysis emphasizes how the PAL centers were designed to ‘fill the void’ left by a declining system of public recreation, thereby providing an example of a recreation program as part of the “social problems industry” (Pitter & Andrews 1997).Item What Makes "Fun" Fun? Insights into Children's Participation in Physical Activity(2015) Hopple, Christine J.; Andrews, David; Graham, George; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A rapidly accumulating body of literature points to fun as an important factor in the physical activity participation choices of children. Few studies, however, have conducted systematic, in-depth investigations into what children mean when they say an activity is fun. Scanlan and Lewthwaite’s (1986) Sport Enjoyment Model was used to guide this inquiry into children’s enjoyment of physical activity in the contexts of Physical Education, organized youth, and recreation. This descriptive, mixed-methods study involved a convenience sample of 98 fourth through sixth graders from six classes in three non-traditional public schools in a mid-Atlantic state. Data collection methods included focus group and duo interviews, an activity-related drawing, and a quantitative measure including both Likert and open-ended questions. Qualitative data was inductively analyzed using comparative analysis techniques with triangulation occurring across all data sources. Findings suggest that the reasons children gave for enjoying and not enjoying physical activity were numerous, varied, and compelling in nature. Although many factors were perceived similarly by many children, others were perceived quite differently. Thus, there appears to be an idiomatic tendency of fun – that is, what each individual child will perceive to be either fun or not is particular to that specific child, with some factors being more salient than others. Contextual factors also strongly influence whether a child will find a specific physical activity to be fun or not, to the extent that these appear to have a stronger influence on the enjoyability of an activity than the activity itself. Lastly, data-gathering methods used with children (activity-oriented questions and card-sorting during focus group interviews) were very effective at stimulating discussion amongst children and uncovering what they think in a very non-threatening manner. Taken together, then, results suggest that the reasons as to why any given child will find an activity to be fun or not fun are complex, interwoven, highly individualistic, and dependent upon a number of contextual factors. Results can aid key players in developing policies and programs which hold the potential to increase children’s enjoyment in physical activity while concurrently decreasing their non-enjoyment of activity.Item Variability in Cognitive Performance and Learning in Younger and Older Adults Explained by Cardiovascular Fitness, Physical Activity, and APOE Genotype(2013) Kayes, Maureen K.; Hatfield, Bradley D; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation investigated the association of physical activity with cognition in two cross-sectional studies. Physical activity has been positively associated with cognitive function, and in older adult populations has shown an additional benefit for carriers of the ApoE- å4 allele. Cognitive training has also revealed a benefit for improved cognitive performance. Questions remain, however, about the interaction of these factors in their relation with cognition. One study addressed the relationship between physical activity and cognitive performance during executive function and working memory challenges in adults ages 50-70, and the other explored the role that physical activity plays in learning in adults ages 22-50 undergoing an online cognitive training intervention. In both studies, regard for influence of the ApoE genotype was considered, and the concept of specificity of physical activity was explored through employment of measures of both cardiovascular fitness and weekly physical activity kilocalorie expenditure. The study of older adults revealed that performance on a working-memory task was positively related to weekly kilocalorie expenditure in APOE-å4 carriers, with no such benefit for non-carriers during a moderate challenge condition of the task, while a positive relationship was revealed for both å4 carriers and non-carriers during a more challenging condition, but the magnitude of the relationship was greater in å4 carriers. The study of younger adults revealed no transfer benefits for cognitive training; however, cardiovascular fitness was positively related to performance after the intervention on a transfer task of proactive interference, and a positive trend was also found for cardiovascular fitness on a divided-attention language vocabulary learning task. No association was observed with regard to APOE-å4 genotype for any post-intervention task or learning transfer challenge. Taken together, these studies reveal that physical activity is associated with improved cognition in younger and older adults alike, but with specificity as to volume or intensity of physical activity mediating the relationship, cognitive processes benefited, and the role that the APOE-å4 genotype plays.Item Circulating biomarkers of nitro-oxidative stress in young and older active and inactive men(2010) Bjork, Lori; Hagberg, James M; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Oxidative stress markers may be novel factors contributing to cardiovascular (CVD) risk. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of long-term exercise, age, and their interaction on the plasma levels of the oxidative stress markers oxidized LDL (ox-LDL), nitrotyrosine, and myeloperoxidase (MPO), and to investigate whether these levels correlated with plasma NOx levels. Older (62 ± 2 yr) active (n=12) men who had exercised regularly for over 30 years and young (25 ± 4 yr) active (n=7) men who had exercised regularly for over 3 years were matched to older (n=11) and young (n=8) inactive males. Young subjects showed lower plasma nitrotyrosine levels than older subjects (P = 0.047). Young inactive subjects had higher ox-LDL levels than either the young active (P = 0.042) or the older active (P = 0.041) subjects. In addition, plasma oxidative stress levels, particularly ox-LDL, were correlated with various conventional CVD risk factors, and in older subjects were associated with Framingham risk score (r = 0.49, P = 0.015). The study found no relationships between plasma markers of oxidative stress and plasma NOx levels. The findings suggest that a sedentary lifestyle may be associated with higher ox-LDL levels and that the levels of oxidative stress markers may contribute to CVD risk.Item Exercise and Depression: Causal Sequence Using Cross-Lagged Panel Correlation Analysis(2009) Scott, Virginia Anne; Andrews, David L; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study sought to determine what kind of causal relationship, if any, exists between exercise and depression. A university student population (N = 178) was given the Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory-II at two time points separated by approximately one month. Cross-lagged panel correlation was used to make causal inferences based on the strength of the temporal relationships. After meeting the assumptions of synchronicity and stationarity, there was no significant difference between the cross-lagged correlations (ZPF = -0.4599, p = 0.65). Thus, no single causal pathway was dominant. While equal cross-lagged correlations can indicate spuriousness, it can also signify reciprocal causation. Exercise was not clearly the cause of reductions in depression, but neither was depression clearly the cause of physical inactivity. More complex causal pathways, such as reciprocal causation, warrant further investigation.Item The Effects of Low-Fat Diet and Exercise on C-Reactive Protein and Metabolic Syndrome: Findings from a Randomized Controlled Trial(2008-07-09) Camhi, Sarah Michelle; Young, Deborah R; Kinesiology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Background: Low-fat diet (D) and exercise (E) are recommended for reducing cardiovascular disease risk. However, the independent and combined effects of D and E on C-reactive protein (CRP) and metabolic syndrome (MS) are unknown. Purpose: The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the changes in CRP and MS between control (C), D, E and diet plus exercise (D+E). Methods: Men (n=197) and postmenopausal women (n=180) with elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, were randomized into a one-year trial with four groups: C, D, E or D+E (Stefanick et al., 1998). Weight loss was not an intervention focus. This secondary data analysis evaluated stored plasma samples for high-sensitivity CRP. MS prevalence was retrospectively found using the NCEP-ATP III definition. CRP change (ΔCRP) was examined between intervention groups using ANCOVA. Differences between groups for MS at follow-up were retrospectively investigated using logistic regression. All analyses were stratified by gender and controlled for baseline values, body fat change and other appropriate covariates. Results: In women, ΔCRP was different between D+E vs. C (-0.7 ± 0.33 mg/L, p = 0.04) and D+E vs. E (-0.9 ± 0.32 mg/L, p = 0.004). Women also had a decrease in CRP within D+E (Δ log CRP 0.2 ± 0.035 mg/L; p = 0.0002). After the intervention, ΔCRP did not differ for men between or within treatment groups. MS at follow-up was not different between C, D, E or D+E in either men or women. In women with MS, ΔCRP was different between D+E vs. C (-1.3 ± 0.43 mg/L; p = 0.006), D+E vs. E (-1.1 ± 0.44 mg/L; p = 0.02), and D vs. C (-1.2 ± 0.43 mg/L; p = 0.009). In women with MS, CRP decreased from baseline within D+E (Δ log CRP 0.2 ± 0.039 mg/L; p=0.0008). At follow-up, there were no differences between or within groups for ΔCRP in men with MS, or men without MS and women without MS. Conclusion: D and D+E may be effective treatments for reducing CRP in women with MS. Further studies are needed to replicate results and clarify the influence of gender.