The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences Advance Access originally published online on August 19, 2009
The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2009 64A(12):1275-1282; doi:10.1093/gerona/glp117
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Evidence for Neurocognitive Plasticity in At-Risk Older Adults: The Experience Corps Program
1 Department of Mental Health, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
2 Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3 Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
4 Department of Psychiatry, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
5 The Greater Homewood Community Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland
6 Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
7 Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York
Address correspondence to Michelle C. Carlson, PhD, Department of Mental Health, Center on Aging and Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2024 East Monument Street, Suite 2-700, Baltimore, MD 21205. Email: mcarlson{at}jhsph.edu
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Abstract |
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Objective: To determine whether Experience Corps (EC), a social service program, would improve age-vulnerable executive functions and increase activity in brain regions in a high-risk group through increased cognitive and physical activity.
Methods: Eight community-dwelling, older female volunteers and nine matched wait-list controls were recruited to serve in the ongoing EC: Baltimore program in three elementary schools. We employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) preintervention and postintervention to examine whether EC volunteers improved executive function and showed increased activity in the prefrontal cortex relative to controls. fMRI volunteers were trained and placed with other volunteers 15 h/wk for 6 months during the academic year to assist teachers in kindergarten through third grade to promote children’s literacy and academic achievement.
Results: Participants were African American and had low education, low income, and low Mini-Mental State Examination scores (M = 24), indicative of elevated risk for cognitive impairment. Volunteers exhibited intervention-specific increases in brain activity in the left prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex over the 6-month interval relative to matched controls. Neural gains were matched by behavioral improvements in executive inhibitory ability.
Conclusions: Using fMRI, we demonstrated intervention-specific short-term gains in executive function and in the activity of prefrontal cortical regions in older adults at elevated risk for cognitive impairment. These pilot results provide proof of concept for use-dependent brain plasticity in later life, and, that interventions designed to promote health and function through everyday activity may enhance plasticity in key regions that support executive function.
Keywords Prefrontal cortex; Executive function; fMRI; Aging; Social engagement
Received: February 2, 2009; Accepted: July 16, 2009