Differential Effects of Physical Exercise, Cognitive Training, and Mindfulness Practice on Serum BDNF Levels in Healthy Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Intervention Study

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Ledreux, Aurélie^{a; *} | Håkansson, Krister^{b; g} | Carlsson, Roger^c | Kidane, Mhretab^d | Columbo, Laura^e | Terjestam, Yvonne^c | Ryan, Eliza^f | Tusch, Erich^f | Winblad, Bengt^g | Daffner, Kirk^f | Granholm, Ann-Charlotte^{a; e; g; 1} | Mohammed, Abdul Kadir H.^{c; g; 1}

Affiliations: [a] Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, University of Denver, Denver, CO, USA | [b] Theme Aging, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden | [c] Department of Psychology, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden | [d] Department of Computer Science and Media Technology, Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden | [e] Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA | [f] Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA | [g] Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Aurélie Ledreux, PhD, Research Assistant Professor, Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, University of Denver, 2155 East Wesley Avenue, Denver, CO 80208, USA. E-mail: [email protected].

Note: [1] ACG and AKHM share co-senior authorship on the study.

Abstract: Previous studies have indicated that an active lifestyle is associated with better brain health and a longer life, compared to a more sedentary lifestyle. These studies, both on human and animal subjects, have typically focused on a single activity, usually physical exercise, but other activities have received an increasing interest. One proposed mechanism is that physical exercise increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the brain. For the first time, the long-term effects on serum BDNF levels were compared in persons who engaged in either physical exercise training, cognitive training, or mindfulness practice during 5 weeks, and compared with an active control group. Two cohorts of healthy older individuals, one from the Boston area in the US and one from the Växjö area in Sweden, participated. A total of 146 participants were randomly assigned to one of the four groups. All interventions were structurally similar, using interactive, computer-based software that directed participants to carry out specified activities for 35 minutes/day, 5 days per week for 5 weeks. Blood samples were obtained at baseline and soon after the completion of the 5-week long intervention program, and serum BDNF levels were measured using a commercially available ELISA. Only the group that underwent cognitive training increased their serum BDNF levels after 5 weeks of training (F1,74 = 4.22, p = 0.044, partial η2 = 0.054), corresponding to an average 10% increase. These results strongly suggest that cognitive training can exert beneficial effects on brain health in an older adult population.

Keywords: Aging, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, cognitive training, mindfulness, physical exercise

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-190756

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 71, no. 4, pp. 1245-1261, 2019