Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29254088›Full record

ArticleJournal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD2018

Physical Activity and Hippocampal Sub-Region Structure in Older Adults with Memory Complaints.

Prabha Siddarth, Berna Rahi, Natacha D Emerson, Alison C Burggren, Karen J Miller, Susan Bookheimer, Helen Lavretsky, Bruce Dobkin, Gary Small, David A Merrill

Open access · hybridAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
10citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

10 citing papers in PubMed, 23 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Physical activity mediates age differences in cognition among Tsimane forager-horticulturalists.The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Prabha SiddarthDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Berna RahiDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Natacha D EmersonSemel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Alison C BurggrenDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Karen J MillerDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Susan BookheimerDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Helen LavretskyDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Bruce DobkinNeurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Gary SmallDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
David A MerrillDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
University of California, Los Angeles · US

Funding

UCLA Clinical and Translational Science InstituteUL1TR000124 · NCATS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI DUBINETT, STEVEN M. · 2012 to 2015
$57.0M
UCLA OLDER AMERICANS INDEPENDENCE CENTERP30AG028748 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI REUBEN, DAVID B. · 2006 to 2017
$9.8M
Effects of heavy adolescent cannabis use on brain morphology in agingK01DA034728 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI BURGGREN, ALISON CLEMENTS · 2013 to 2017
$776k
NCATS NIH HHS UL1 TR000124NIA NIH HHS P30 AG028748NIDA NIH HHS K01 DA034728
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPhysical activity (PA) plays a major role in maintaining cognition in older adults. PA has been shown to be correlated with total hippocampal volume, a memory-critical region within the medial temporal lobe (MTL). However, research on associations between PA and MTL sub-region integrity is limited.

objectiveTo examine the relationship between PA, MTL thickness, and its sub-regions, and cognitive function in non-demented older adults with memory complaints.

methodsTwenty-nine subjects aged ≥60 years, with memory complaints were recruited for this cross-sectional study. PA was tracked for 7 days using accelerometers, and average number of steps/day determined. Subjects were categorized into two groups: those who walked ≤4000 steps/day (lower PA) and those with >4000 steps/day (higher PA). Subjects received neuropsychological testing and 3T MRI scans. Nonparametric ANCOVAs controlling for age examined differences between the two groups.

resultsTwenty-six subjects aged 72.7(8.1) years completed the study. The higher PA group (n = 13) had thicker fusiform gyrus (median difference = 0.11 mm, effect size (ES) = 1.43, p = 0.001) and parahippocampal cortex (median difference = 0.12 mm, ES = 0.93, p = 0.04) compared to the lower PA group. The higher PA group also exhibited superior performance in attention and information-processing speed (median difference = 0.90, ES = 1.61, p = 0.003) and executive functioning (median difference = 0.97, ES = 1.24, p = 0.05). Memory recall was not significantly different between the two groups.

conclusionOlder non-demented individuals complaining of memory loss who walked >4000 steps each day had thicker MTL sub-regions and better cognitive functioning than those who walked ≤4000 steps. Future studies should include longitudinal analyses and explore mechanisms mediating hippocampal related atrophy.

Indexed as

ExerciseAgedAged, 80 and overCognitionCross-Sectional StudiesExecutive FunctionFemaleGeriatric AssessmentHippocampusHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMemoryMemory DisordersMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsCortical thicknessmemory complaintsolder adultsphysical activity

Identifiers

PMID29254088
PMCPMC6461048
OpenAlexW2772161072

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.