Physical Fitness and Hot Executive Function in Alzheimer's Risk

Physical Fitness and Hot Executive Function in Alzheimer's Risk

This 18-month study tracks how physical fitness relates to executive function in older adults, aiming to determine if fitness improvements predict better cognitive performance. Participants complete assessments at baseline and 18 months, including cardiorespiratory fitness (YMCA bike test), muscle strength (chest and leg press tests), and executive function (computer tasks with brain activity recording via EEG). Additional measures include physical activity questionnaires, cognitive screening (MMSE), memory tests (digit span), demographics (age, sex, education), and blood tests for APOE ε4 gene status. No exercise program will be provided, allowing observation of natural fitness-cognition relationships in daily life.

This prospective observational study examines associations between health-related physical fitness and behavioral/electrophysiological indices of cool and hot executive function in older adults over 18 months. The primary objective is to determine whether changes in physical fitness components predict concurrent changes in executive function domains.

Assessment Protocol: Participants complete comprehensive evaluations at baseline and 18-month follow-up, including: (1) cardiorespiratory fitness via YMCA submaximal cycle ergometry; (2) muscular strength through one-repetition maximum testing (chest press, leg press); and (3) executive function using computerized task-switching paradigms with simultaneous electroencephalography. Secondary measures include demographics (age, sex, education), physical activity levels (International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Taiwan Short Form), global cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination), and working memory (digit span forward/backward). Additionally, Apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) genotype will be examined as a potential moderator of fitness-cognition relationships.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 50-70.
• Able to engage in fitness testing.
• Normal vision or corrected-to-normal vision.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Suffering from cardiopulmonary-related diseases.
• Suffering from cognitive, neurological or psychiatric disorders (e.g., dementia, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, depression, schizophrenia, etc.).
• Suffering from infectious diseases (e.g., hepatitis, human immunodeficiency virus or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).
• Having a history of drug or alcohol abuse.
• Having colour vision deficiency (e.g., colour blindness).
• Having a family history of aneurysm.
• Taking medications that affect brain function.