Effects of exercise and horticultural intervention on the brain and mental health in older adults with depressive symptoms and memory problems

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26702033
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied health science
• Research Institution: Kagoshima University (2017); National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology (2014-2016)
• Principal Investigator: MAKIZAKO Hyuma 鹿児島大学, 医歯学域医学系, 教授 (70510303)
• Research Collaborator: SHIMADA Hiroyuki ; DOI Takehiko ; LEE Sangyoon ; Tsutsumimoto Kota ; NAKAKUBO Sho ; HOTTA Ryo ; MAKINO Keitaro
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 認知科学 / 脳・神経 / 健康科学 / 老化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Among 202 community-dwelling elderly, 97 (48%) answered having specific daily activities to maintain their brain health. Participants with specific daily activities for brain health showed better performance in memory and processing speed tasks than those without. Older women with mild cognitive impairment (n = 56) who had routine gardening activities demonstrated increasing brain blood flow during verbal fluency tasks, while those without gardening activity showed fewer brain blood flow. The intervention effects of exercise and gardening activities on elderly subjects (n = 89) exhibiting depressive symptoms and mild memory loss were investigated. As a result of a simple comparison that refers to the Control Group, logical memory performance and the distance covered in a two-minute walk showed significant improvement in the Exercise Group. No items were observed showing significant improvements in the comparison between the Gardening Group and the Control Group.

Free Research Field

健康科学