Exercise Effects on Word Learning
| Status: | Recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Healthy Studies, Neurology |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Neurology, Other |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 65 - 89 |
| Updated: | 12/2/2018 |
| Start Date: | December 9, 2016 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2019 |
| Contact: | Amy D Rodriguez, PhD |
| Email: | amy.rodriguez@va.gov |
Acute Exercise Effects on Word Learning in Aging and Stroke-induced Aphasia
The aging Veteran population will substantially increase over the next 10 years, as the 24.9%
of Veterans who are currently between 55-64 years of age join the 38.5% who are already over
age 65. The risk of stroke more than doubles each decade after age 55, which places Veterans
at an ever-increasing risk of suffering stroke-related language impairment (i.e., aphasia).
Difficulty retrieving words, which negatively impacts psychosocial well-being and quality of
life, is the most common complaint in healthy aging and aphasia. Word retrieval interventions
to maintain or restore communicative function are needed. Studies have shown that physical
exercise can improve word learning in young adults. This study will investigate the effects
of exercise on word learning in aging and aphasia. The results will help the us understand
how exercise may be used to optimize word retrieval interventions for our aging Veterans.
of Veterans who are currently between 55-64 years of age join the 38.5% who are already over
age 65. The risk of stroke more than doubles each decade after age 55, which places Veterans
at an ever-increasing risk of suffering stroke-related language impairment (i.e., aphasia).
Difficulty retrieving words, which negatively impacts psychosocial well-being and quality of
life, is the most common complaint in healthy aging and aphasia. Word retrieval interventions
to maintain or restore communicative function are needed. Studies have shown that physical
exercise can improve word learning in young adults. This study will investigate the effects
of exercise on word learning in aging and aphasia. The results will help the us understand
how exercise may be used to optimize word retrieval interventions for our aging Veterans.
Difficulty retrieving the right word to communicate a message is the most common complaint in
healthy older adults and individuals with stroke-induced language impairment (i.e., aphasia).
Novel word learning paradigms have been used to investigate a variety of behavioral and
neuromodulatory approaches to improve word retrieval deficits. Previous novel word learning
studies have shown that physical exercise can improve long term recall in healthy young
adults and that increased levels of dopamine may be responsible for this effect; however, no
studies have investigated the effects of exercise on novel word learning in older adults and
individuals with aphasia, and very little is known about the mechanisms that support
exercise-enhanced word learning in these populations.
The aims of this study are to:
1) to identify the novel word learning paradigm that facilitates immediate and long-term word
recall 2a) to investigate how acute, moderate-intensity exercise alters levels of serum
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and plasma dopamine 2b) to describe and quantify the
association between novel word learning and any observed changes in serum BDNF and plasma
dopamine.
This research will provide a platform for future investigations of immediate exercise effects
on word learning, which are essential for achieving our long-term goal of developing
exercise-based word retrieval interventions for healthy older Veterans and Veterans with
aphasia.
A within subjects crossover design will be used to address Aims 1, 2a and 2b. Subjects will
complete aerobic exercise or stretching (training) before engaging in Study Only or Retrieval
Practice (learning). Subjects will be counterbalanced within and across conditions. Sixteen
healthy older adults and 16 individuals with aphasia, age 65-89 years, will be recruited. The
study will comprise 18 sessions over 12 weeks. In Week 1, subjects will undergo baseline
blood draws, a physical assessment, cognitive and language assessments, and a practice word
learning task. In Weeks 2-12, subjects will complete the four conditions. Each condition will
last two weeks, with a one-week break between conditions. In each condition, training and
learning sessions will take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Training: Subjects will
engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling or gentle upper and lower limb stretching
(control) prior to engaging in a novel word learning task. Learning: Familiar objects (e.g.,
cup) will be paired with nonwords (e.g., flark). In the Study Only paradigm, object/nonword
pairs will be presented three times across three days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). In the
Retrieval Practice paradigm, object/nonword pairs will be presented during the first session
(Monday). In subsequent sessions (Wednesday, Friday), subjects will be asked to recall the
nonword name of presented objects. Corrective feedback will be provided on each trial.
Testing: Recognition and recall testing without corrective feedback will be administered
immediately after learning (short-term memory), before training in the second and third
learning session (overnight consolidation) and one week after learning (long-term memory).
Blood Draws: Three blood samples will be taken at baseline (rest, 30 minutes, 60 minutes). In
each of the four conditions, blood samples will be taking during the first and third learning
session (at rest, after training, and after learning). Whole blood will be collected in plain
tubes and in anticoagulant-treated tubes for subsequent serum BDNF and plasma dopamine
analysis by ELISA. Samples will be analyzed in triplicate to increase reliability.
healthy older adults and individuals with stroke-induced language impairment (i.e., aphasia).
Novel word learning paradigms have been used to investigate a variety of behavioral and
neuromodulatory approaches to improve word retrieval deficits. Previous novel word learning
studies have shown that physical exercise can improve long term recall in healthy young
adults and that increased levels of dopamine may be responsible for this effect; however, no
studies have investigated the effects of exercise on novel word learning in older adults and
individuals with aphasia, and very little is known about the mechanisms that support
exercise-enhanced word learning in these populations.
The aims of this study are to:
1) to identify the novel word learning paradigm that facilitates immediate and long-term word
recall 2a) to investigate how acute, moderate-intensity exercise alters levels of serum
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and plasma dopamine 2b) to describe and quantify the
association between novel word learning and any observed changes in serum BDNF and plasma
dopamine.
This research will provide a platform for future investigations of immediate exercise effects
on word learning, which are essential for achieving our long-term goal of developing
exercise-based word retrieval interventions for healthy older Veterans and Veterans with
aphasia.
A within subjects crossover design will be used to address Aims 1, 2a and 2b. Subjects will
complete aerobic exercise or stretching (training) before engaging in Study Only or Retrieval
Practice (learning). Subjects will be counterbalanced within and across conditions. Sixteen
healthy older adults and 16 individuals with aphasia, age 65-89 years, will be recruited. The
study will comprise 18 sessions over 12 weeks. In Week 1, subjects will undergo baseline
blood draws, a physical assessment, cognitive and language assessments, and a practice word
learning task. In Weeks 2-12, subjects will complete the four conditions. Each condition will
last two weeks, with a one-week break between conditions. In each condition, training and
learning sessions will take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Training: Subjects will
engage in 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling or gentle upper and lower limb stretching
(control) prior to engaging in a novel word learning task. Learning: Familiar objects (e.g.,
cup) will be paired with nonwords (e.g., flark). In the Study Only paradigm, object/nonword
pairs will be presented three times across three days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). In the
Retrieval Practice paradigm, object/nonword pairs will be presented during the first session
(Monday). In subsequent sessions (Wednesday, Friday), subjects will be asked to recall the
nonword name of presented objects. Corrective feedback will be provided on each trial.
Testing: Recognition and recall testing without corrective feedback will be administered
immediately after learning (short-term memory), before training in the second and third
learning session (overnight consolidation) and one week after learning (long-term memory).
Blood Draws: Three blood samples will be taken at baseline (rest, 30 minutes, 60 minutes). In
each of the four conditions, blood samples will be taking during the first and third learning
session (at rest, after training, and after learning). Whole blood will be collected in plain
tubes and in anticoagulant-treated tubes for subsequent serum BDNF and plasma dopamine
analysis by ELISA. Samples will be analyzed in triplicate to increase reliability.
Inclusion Criteria:
- monolingual English speakers
- "low physical activity" on the International Physical Activity Questionnaire
- physician's written approval for participation in moderate-intensity exercise
Exclusion Criteria:
- VO2 max >26 (men) and 22 (women)
- inability to cycle for 3 minutes at 50 revolutions/minute with no resistance
- any comorbid condition with exercise contraindications
- use of hormone replacement therapy
- dopaminergic
- anti-depressant
- anti-psychotic
- or illicit drugs
- consumption of >14 alcoholic drinks/week or > 1pack of cigarettes/day
- uncorrected hearing or vision impairments that interfere with study procedures
- inability to read or repeat nonwords (e.g., flark)
- inability to learn one novel word during a practice learning task
- below cut-off on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment or the Comprehensive Aphasia Test
Cognitive Screen
- and/or >10 on the Beck Depression Inventory
We found this trial at
1
site
Decatur, Georgia 30033
Principal Investigator: Amy D. Rodriguez, PhD
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