Abstract #2600

Increased Intracortical R1 in the Motor Cortex of Exercising Older Adults

Christopher Dennis Rowley^1,2, Ralf Deichmann³, Tobias Engeroff⁴, Elke Hattingen⁵, Rainer Hellweg⁶, Ulrich Pilatus⁵, Eszter Füzéki⁴, Sina Gerten⁴, Lutz Vogt⁴, Winfried Banzer⁴, Johannes Pantel⁷, Johannes Fleckenstein⁴, Silke Matura^7,8, and Nicholas A Bock⁹

¹Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada, ²Neuroscience, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, ³Brain Imaging Center Frankfurt/M., Frankfurt, Germany, ⁴Department of Sports Medicine, Institute of Sports Sciences, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, ⁵Institute of Neuroradiology, Goethe University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany, ⁶Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany, ⁷Institute of General Practice, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, ⁸Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany, ⁹Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

Exercise is known to be beneficial for brain health and performance; however, it is not known if changes in cortical microstructure underlie this effect. To investigate this, R₁ maps acquired on cognitively healthy older adults (n=24, 65-90 years old) were analyzed before and after a 12-week exercise intervention. R₁ prolongation indicating increased myelin levels were significant in the right (p=0.033) and trending in the left (p=0.052) leg motor regions with respect to a control group (n=22). ΔR₁ correlated with aerobic cycling performance improvements (left: p=0.012, right: p=0.011). This study demonstrates that exercise promotes myelination in cortical motor regions.

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