Exercise, Memory, and the Hippocampus: Uncovering Modifiable Lifestyle Reserve
factors in Refractory Epilepsy
Abstract number :
3.511
Submission category :
11. Behavior/Neuropsychology/Language / 11A. Adult
Year :
2024
Submission ID :
1585
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/9/2024 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Authors :
Presenting Author: Jonathan Rodriguez, BS – UC San Diego
Alena Stasenko, PhD – UCSD
Erik Kaestner, PhD – UC San Diego
Evan Brady, BA – Emory University
Daniel Drane, PhD – Emory University
Ezequiel Gleichgerrcht, MD, PhD – Emory University
Rebecca Roth, BA – Emory University
Carrie McDonald, PhD – UC San Diego
Rationale: Physical exercise is an emerging target for improving cognition in aging and neurological disease. Due to the beneficial impact of exercise on hippocampal health and the vulnerability of the hippocampus in medication-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), exercise could present a promising intervention in TLE. We investigated whether exercise engagement is associated with verbal memory function and hippocampal integrity in 29 young to middle-aged adults with refractory TLE and 21 demographically matched controls.
Methods: Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire of weekly exercise, three tests of verbal memory, and a subset (n=44) underwent structural MRI
Results: Individuals with TLE self-reported lower exercise scores than controls across all levels of exercise intensity (p< .001). In TLE, greater exercise engagement was associated with better verbal memory (word-list recall and associative learning; rho=.46- .47; ps FDR < .05), and with larger contralateral hippocampal volumes (rho=.61; p< .01). These effects remained significant when controlling for several clinical and demographic factors.
Behavior