Abstract
Cardiovascular health is a strong determinant of longevity, and cardiovascular risk is a significant factor in the development of cognitive decline. Similarly, neuroplasticity is critically involved in maintaining cognitive health and independence during aging and, consequently, optimal brain health and healthy longevity. Thus, a greater understanding of exercise response variability, the underpinning mechanisms of neuroplasticity and cardiovascular health, and its behavioral relevance to exercise adherence are necessary to improve the effectiveness of exercise in the prevention and remediation of cognitive decline.
The research's main goals are to clarify the underlying mechanisms of neuroplasticity and cardiovascular health associated with brain health in aging adults, and to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of an exercise intervention to increase cognition and cardiorespiratory fitness in in-person and remote settings in sedentary aging adults. This research also aims to determine the physiological and behavioral factors that best predict exercise program adherence and exercise engagement in sedentary aging adults.
Our findings strengthen the conceptual framework linking the brain-heart pathway driven by the crucial role of autonomic heart rate regulation changes on both nervous and cardiovascular systems and the advance in demonstrating the behavioral relevance of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation neuroplasticity assessment on aging adults. This work also proposes meaningful, low-cost, safe, and time-efficient physiological and behavioral measures and clinical applications, which benefit clinicians by including those measures, such as heart rate recovery, as potential screening and prognostic measures of cardiovascular health and as a surrogate marker of brain health. The proposed multidimensional model focuses on specific screening and tailored exercise intervention for clinicians and scientists aiming to improve exercise adherence and maximize post-exercise benefits on brain health in sedentary aging adults.