Healthy Brain Ageing: Impact of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on Vascular Regulation and Cognition in Older Adults

Oxford Physical Activity Research Network (OxPARN) and Oxford Demenita and Ageing Research (OxDARE) are pleased to be hosting this guest seminar.

Abstract

This presentation will review the changes that take place in the brain circulation and cognition with advancing age, and the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise on these outcomes.  The seminar will also review the role of aerobic exercise in populations at risk of age-related diseases of the brain (i.e., stroke, mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease).  Dr. Poulin and his colleagues are currently conducting the Brain in Motion study, a large community-based study in Calgary, which involves a 6-month aerobic exercise intervention in 250 older men and women. Initial findings from that study will be presented. Additional discussion will include the most current guidelines and recommendations for the quantity and quality of physical activity for brain health in older adults.

Speaker

Marc Poulin is a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, and Professor of Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine (Departments of Physiology & Pharmacology, and Clinical Neurosciences) and in the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of Calgary.  He holds the Brenda Strafford Foundation Chair in Alzheimer Research. He obtained a Bachelor of Physical and Health Education (Honors) from Laurentian University (Sudbury, Ontario; 1986), an MA and PhD in Exercise Physiology from the University of Western Ontario (London, Canada; 1988 and 1993) and a DPhil in Respiratory and Cerebrovascular Human Physiology from the University of Oxford (New College; Oxford, UK; 1999). His research focuses on the mechanisms of cerebrovascular regulation and perturbations in blood gases in health and disease. His two primary research areas include i) healthy brain aging and dementia (focusing on the impact of exercise on cerebral blood flow and cognitive function), and ii) the effects of intermittent hypoxia in health (using experimental human models) and in the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnea.

 All are very welcome.