Aerobic Exercise to Improve Executive Language Function In Older Adults

Recently, considerable attention has been devoted to examining the beneficial relationship
between cognition and aerobic exercise in older adults. Specifically, the effects are
thought to involve higher order cognitive processes, such as working memory, switching
between tasks, and inhibiting irrelevant information, all of which are thought to be sub-
served, in part, by the frontal lobes (Colcombe et al., 2006). Importantly, these areas also
are most susceptible to age-related decline (Raz, 2000) and are essential resources for
language production (Kemper & Sumner, 2001; Murray & Lenz, 2001). However, despite promising
cognitive improvement, changes in frontally-mediated executive language functions have been
widely ignored. This is unfortunate considering impaired word retrieval compromises
communicative effectiveness, leading to frustration, depression, and withdrawal. Perhaps
more importantly, communication ineffectiveness, particularly in the elderly, leads to
difficulties interacting with health care professionals leading to further health care
burdens. Since cognition, and specifically word retrieval difficulties, usually remain
untreated, it is important to find treatment strategies for minimizing these deficits.
Therefore, the short-term goal and the purpose of this proposal is to examine the potential
of aerobic exercise to improve executive language function in older adults.