Can Exercise Boost Cognitive Performance in Patients With MS?

NEW ORLEANS—A single bout of treadmill walking might affect cognitive processing to a greater degree than stationary cycling, particularly among those with multiple sclerosis (MS) who demonstrate low aerobic fitness, according to a report presented at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Consortium of MS Centers. "This [finding] highlights the importance of targeting those with low aerobic fitness in treadmill walking exercise training interventions for improving cognition in persons with MS, as improving aerobic fitness may be beneficial for reducing MS-related cognitive-motor interference," said Brian M. Sandroff, PhD, of the Kessler Foundation in West Orange, New Jersey, and colleagues.

The mechanisms by which treadmill walking improves cognition in patients with MS are not well understood. Researchers have hypothesized that treadmill walking is essentially a complex cognitive task that requires more attentional resources than other modalities of aerobic exercise (eg, cycle ergometry), and that repeated exposure trains the person in cognitive-motor processing. If this hypothesis is true, then patients with MS should demonstrate worse cognitive performance during treadmill walking than during cycle ergometry, as more attentional resources would presumably be devoted to walking on a treadmill than to cycling on a stationary bicycle. Furthermore, it is unknown whether better aerobic fitness attenuates such cognitive-motor interference in patients with MS.  

Dr. Sandroff and colleagues conducted a pilot study to examine cognitive performance before and during acute bouts of treadmill walking, stationary cycling, and seated quiet rest in 12 fully ambulatory patients with MS with high or low aerobic fitness using a within-subjects, repeated-measures design.  

Participants underwent a baseline incremental exercise test to exhaustion for measurement of aerobic fitness (ie, VO_2peak). Participants further completed three experimental conditions that consisted of 20 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity treadmill walking exercise, moderate- to vigorous-intensity cycle ergometer exercise, and seated quiet rest in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Participants underwent the three-second Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) as a measure of cognitive performance prior to and during each condition.  

Overall, decreases in PASAT performance during treadmill walking were not larger than those during cycle ergometry, relative to quiet rest. However, decreases in PASAT performance were larger for those with lower aerobic fitness during treadmill walking than during cycle ergometry, compared with quiet rest.

NEW ORLEANS—A single bout of treadmill walking might affect cognitive processing to a greater degree than stationary cycling, particularly among those with multiple sclerosis (MS) who demonstrate low aerobic fitness, according to a report presented at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Consortium of MS Centers. "This [finding] highlights the importance of targeting those with low aerobic fitness in treadmill walking exercise training interventions for improving cognition in persons with MS, as improving aerobic fitness may be beneficial for reducing MS-related cognitive-motor interference," said Brian M. Sandroff, PhD, of the Kessler Foundation in West Orange, New Jersey, and colleagues.

The mechanisms by which treadmill walking improves cognition in patients with MS are not well understood. Researchers have hypothesized that treadmill walking is essentially a complex cognitive task that requires more attentional resources than other modalities of aerobic exercise (eg, cycle ergometry), and that repeated exposure trains the person in cognitive-motor processing. If this hypothesis is true, then patients with MS should demonstrate worse cognitive performance during treadmill walking than during cycle ergometry, as more attentional resources would presumably be devoted to walking on a treadmill than to cycling on a stationary bicycle. Furthermore, it is unknown whether better aerobic fitness attenuates such cognitive-motor interference in patients with MS.  

Dr. Sandroff and colleagues conducted a pilot study to examine cognitive performance before and during acute bouts of treadmill walking, stationary cycling, and seated quiet rest in 12 fully ambulatory patients with MS with high or low aerobic fitness using a within-subjects, repeated-measures design.  

Participants underwent a baseline incremental exercise test to exhaustion for measurement of aerobic fitness (ie, VO_2peak). Participants further completed three experimental conditions that consisted of 20 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity treadmill walking exercise, moderate- to vigorous-intensity cycle ergometer exercise, and seated quiet rest in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Participants underwent the three-second Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) as a measure of cognitive performance prior to and during each condition.  

Overall, decreases in PASAT performance during treadmill walking were not larger than those during cycle ergometry, relative to quiet rest. However, decreases in PASAT performance were larger for those with lower aerobic fitness during treadmill walking than during cycle ergometry, compared with quiet rest.

NEW ORLEANS—A single bout of treadmill walking might affect cognitive processing to a greater degree than stationary cycling, particularly among those with multiple sclerosis (MS) who demonstrate low aerobic fitness, according to a report presented at the 31st Annual Meeting of the Consortium of MS Centers. "This [finding] highlights the importance of targeting those with low aerobic fitness in treadmill walking exercise training interventions for improving cognition in persons with MS, as improving aerobic fitness may be beneficial for reducing MS-related cognitive-motor interference," said Brian M. Sandroff, PhD, of the Kessler Foundation in West Orange, New Jersey, and colleagues.

The mechanisms by which treadmill walking improves cognition in patients with MS are not well understood. Researchers have hypothesized that treadmill walking is essentially a complex cognitive task that requires more attentional resources than other modalities of aerobic exercise (eg, cycle ergometry), and that repeated exposure trains the person in cognitive-motor processing. If this hypothesis is true, then patients with MS should demonstrate worse cognitive performance during treadmill walking than during cycle ergometry, as more attentional resources would presumably be devoted to walking on a treadmill than to cycling on a stationary bicycle. Furthermore, it is unknown whether better aerobic fitness attenuates such cognitive-motor interference in patients with MS.  

Dr. Sandroff and colleagues conducted a pilot study to examine cognitive performance before and during acute bouts of treadmill walking, stationary cycling, and seated quiet rest in 12 fully ambulatory patients with MS with high or low aerobic fitness using a within-subjects, repeated-measures design.  

Participants underwent a baseline incremental exercise test to exhaustion for measurement of aerobic fitness (ie, VO_2peak). Participants further completed three experimental conditions that consisted of 20 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity treadmill walking exercise, moderate- to vigorous-intensity cycle ergometer exercise, and seated quiet rest in a randomized, counterbalanced order. Participants underwent the three-second Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) as a measure of cognitive performance prior to and during each condition.  

Overall, decreases in PASAT performance during treadmill walking were not larger than those during cycle ergometry, relative to quiet rest. However, decreases in PASAT performance were larger for those with lower aerobic fitness during treadmill walking than during cycle ergometry, compared with quiet rest.