The effect of physical activity on motor cognition in elderly people

For the presented doctoral thesis, four cross-sectional studies and a longitudinal study were conducted to examine the correspondence between physical activity and motor cognition in older adults. A total of six hypotheses were tested. Forty older adults between 65 and 80 years of age (subdivided into an active and an inactive subgroup based on Freiburg Physical Activity Questionnaire) and 20 sports students as a control group participated in the cross-sectional studies. Eighty-two seniors aged between 65 and 80 years of age all randomly subdivided into the three different resistance training groups participated in the longitudinal study. In the course of the training study, the correspondences between three types of strength exercises including different degrees of instability and the distance and weight estimation capabilities of older adults were investigated. Prior to and following the strength training regimens, participants completed a series of experiments including distance and walking time estimations, weight estimations, perceived confidence to manage daily tasks, and executive function tests as dependent variables. The results of the cross-sectional studies provide evidence for a statistically significant correspondence between physical activity and motor cognition effects. Moreover, some evidence was provided on how physical activity employed through three resistance training types may influence older adults’ motor cognition. In conclusion, the investigations showed that seniors with a higher level of physical activity showed higher degrees of motor cognition as opposed to inactive older adults. These findings could be beneficial for clinical settings to motivate seniors with motor cognition deficiencies in order to use specific exercise modes to improve their motor cognition abilities.