Impact of Taurine and Caffeine on the Cognitive Performance of Healthy Older Adults

Long-term supplementation with folic acid may improve cognitive performance in older individuals. The relationship between folate status and cognitive performance might be mediated by changes in methylation capacity, as methylation reactions are important for normal functioning of the brain. Although aberrant DNA methylation has been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders, the relationship between DNA methylation status and non-pathological cognitive functioning in human subjects has not yet been investigated. The present study investigated the associations between global DNA methylation and key domains of cognitive functioning in healthy older adults. Global DNA methylation, defined as the percentage of methylated cytosine to total cytosine, was measured in leucocytes by liquid chromatography–MS/MS, in 215 men and women, aged 50–70 years, who participated in the Folic Acid and Carotid Intima-Media Thickness (FACIT) study (clinical trial registration number NCT00110604). Cognitive performance was assessed by means of the Visual Verbal Word Learning Task, the Stroop Colour-Word Interference Test, the Concept Shifting Test, the Letter–Digit Substitution Test and the Verbal Fluency Test. Using hierarchical linear regression analyses adjusted for age, sex, level of education, alcohol consumption, smoking status, physical activity, erythrocyte folate concentration and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677 C → T genotype, we found that global DNA methylation was not related to cognitive performance on any of the domains measured. The present study results do not support the hypothesis that global DNA methylation, as measured in leucocytes, might be associated with cognitive functioning in healthy older individuals.

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The Immediate and Delayed Effects of an Acute Bout of Exercise on Cognitive Performance of Healthy Older Adults

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity ◽

10.1123/japa.18.1.87 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 87-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 60

Author(s):

Lisa A. Barella ◽

Jennifer L. Etnier ◽

Yu-Kai Chang

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Stroop Task ◽

Test Performance ◽

Acute Exercise ◽

Short Term ◽

Color Test ◽

Acute Bout ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Delayed Effects

Research on the acute effects of exercise on cognitive performance by older adults is limited by a focus on nonhealthy populations. Furthermore, the duration of cognitive improvements after exercise has not been examined. Thus, this study was designed to test the immediate and delayed effects of acute exercise on cognitive performance of healthy older adults. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Stroop task. Participants were randomly assigned to an exercise (20 min of walking) or control (sitting quietly) condition. The Stroop task was administered at baseline and at 12 time points after treatment. Acute exercise resulted in better Stroop test performance immediately postexercise; however, the effects were limited to the color test. No effects of exercise on performance were observed for the Stroop interference or inhibition tests. Findings suggest that acute exercise performed by healthy older adults has short-term benefits for speed of processing but does not affect other types of cognitive functioning.

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Subjective Cognitive Complaints in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults and Their Relationship to Cognitive Performance and Depressive Symptoms

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-160970 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 59 (3) ◽

pp. 871-881 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Hana Markova ◽

Ross Andel ◽

Hana Stepankova ◽

Miloslav Kopecek ◽

Tomas Nikolai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Depressive Symptoms ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Cognitive Complaints ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Subjective Cognitive Complaints

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Homocysteine-lowering vitamin B supplements do not improve cognitive performance in healthy older adults after two years

Evidence-Based Mental Health ◽

10.1136/ebmh.10.1.27 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 27-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

R. Clarke

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Vitamin B ◽

Healthy Older Adults

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Computerized Cognitive Training in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

10.1101/2020.10.07.20208306 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Amit Lampit ◽

Hanna Malmberg Gavelin ◽

Julieta Sabates ◽

Nathalie H Launder ◽

Harry Hallock ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Risk Of Bias ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

Computerized Cognitive Training ◽

Supervised Training ◽

Design Factors

ABSTRACTBackgroundComputerized cognitive training (CCT) is a broad category of drill-and-practice interventions aims to maintain cognitive performance in older adults. Despite a supportive evidence base for general efficacy, it is unclear what types of CCT are most likely to be beneficial and what intervention design factors are essential for clinical implementation.MethodsWe searched MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO to August 2019 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of any type of CCT in cognitively healthy older adults. Risk of bias within studies was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool. The primary outcome was change in overall cognitive performance between CCT and control groups. Secondary outcomes were individual cognitive domains. A series of meta-regressions were performed to estimates associations between key design factors and overall efficacy using robust variance estimation models. Network meta-analysis was used to compare the main approaches to CCT against passive or common active control conditions.ResultsNinety RCTs encompassing 7219 participants across 117 comparisons were included. The overall cognitive effect size across all trials was small (g=0.18, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.23) with considerable heterogeneity (τ2=0.074, 95% prediction interval −0.36 to 0.73), robust to small-study effect or risk of bias. Effect sizes for individual cognitive domains were small, heterogeneous and statistically significant apart from fluid intelligence and visual processing. Meta-regressions revealed significantly larger effect sizes in trials using supervised training or up to three times per week. Multidomain training was the most efficacious CCT approach against any type of control, with greater benefits in a subset of supervised training studies.ConclusionsThe efficacy of CCT varies substantially across designs, independent of the type of control. Multidomain supervised CCT appears to be the most efficacious approach, and should be developed to accommodate for individual needs and remote delivery settings. Future research should focus on identifying the intervention components and regimens that could attenuate aging-related cognitive decline.

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Investigating Associations Between Inflammatory Biomarkers, Gray Matter, Neurofilament Light and Cognitive Performance in Healthy Older Adults

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience ◽

10.3389/fnagi.2021.719553 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

Author(s):

Hollis C. Karoly ◽

Carillon J. Skrzynski ◽

Erin Moe ◽

Angela D. Bryan ◽

Kent E. Hutchison

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Gray Matter ◽

Regression Models ◽

Normal Aging ◽

Neurofilament Light ◽

Healthy Older Adults ◽

Analytic Models ◽

The Brain

Background: Exploring biological variables that may serve as indicators of the development and progression of cognitive decline is currently a high-priority research area. Recent studies have demonstrated that during normal aging, individuals experience increased inflammation throughout the brain and body, which may be linked to cognitive impairment and reduced gray matter volume in the brain. Neurofilament light polypeptide (NfL), which is released into the circulation following neuronal damage, has been proposed as a biomarker for neurodegenerative diseases, and may also have utility in the context of normal aging. The present study tested associations between age, peripheral levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6, peripheral NfL, brain volume, and cognitive performance in a sample of healthy adults over 60 years old.Methods: Of the 273 individuals who participated in this study, 173 had useable neuroimaging data, a subset of whom had useable blood data (used for quantifying IL-6 and NfL) and completed a cognitive task. Gray matter (GM) thickness values were extracted from brain areas of interest using Freesurfer. Regression models were used to test relationships between IL-6, NfL, GM, and cognitive performance. To test putative functional relationships between these variables, exploratory path analytic models were estimated, in which the relationship between age, IL-6, and working memory performance were linked via four different operationalizations of brain health: (1) a latent GM variable composed of several regions linked to cognitive impairment, (2) NfL alone, (3) NfL combined with the GM latent variable, and (4) the hippocampus alone.Results: Regression models showed that IL-6 and NfL were significantly negatively associated with GM volume and that GM was positively associated with cognitive performance. The path analytic models indicated that age and cognitive performance are linked by GM in the hippocampus as well as several other regions previously associated with cognitive impairment, but not by NfL alone. Peripheral IL-6 was not associated with age in any of the path models.Conclusions: Results suggest that among healthy older adults, there are several GM regions that link age and cognitive performance. Notably, NfL alone is not a sufficient marker of brain changes associated with aging, inflammation, and cognitive performance.

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