Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

BACKGROUND: The preservation of mobility and independence is essential for successful aging. Although physical impairments are prevalent in the elderly, accumulating research suggests that certain interventions may help maintain or even improve mobility in this population. Among these interventions include cognitive training, aerobic exercise training such as walking or biking, as well as resistance or strength training. While although the effect of these interventions on physical outcomes in the elderly have been investigated separately, there is currently no research having compared the effect of these interventions directly. OBJECTIVE: The current research therefore seeks to investigate the effect of cognitive training that emphasizes visual and motor attentional exercises, aerobic exercise training via biking, and strength training using resistance bands on gait speed and variability with and without an added cognitive load in an elderly population. In order to elucidate the underlying mechanisms driving changes in gait following these interventions, functional brain activity in the prefrontal cortex will be measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRs) during locomotion. METHODS: Participants will include sedentary healthy older adults over the age of 60. Training will take place at the Geriatric Research Institute and the PERFORM center in Montreal, Quebec. Participants will complete training in groups of five, 3 times a week for one hour, over a 3-month period. IMPLICATIONS: The current research will help shed light on the type of intervention that yields greatest improvements in walking ability in the elderly. Additionally, the results will provide meaningful information regarding the extent of neuroplasticity following training in the elderly. The results from this study may be translated into the real-world to enhance the level of independence and overall well-being of older adults.