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Research Article

Brain Activation and Mental Health as a Function of Physical Activity in Older Adults

EE Hall & SJ Petruzzello, PhD, FACSM, Department of Kinesiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL

Physical activity has been consistently linked with better mental health (e.g., less anxiety, depression; more positive affect, satisfaction with life). Brain activation has also been linked to mental health, with greater relative left activation being related to more global positive affect and greater relative right activation being related to more global negative affect. Few studies have examined this relationship in older adults. Resting left and right hemisphere alpha activity (8-13 Hz; F3, F4, C3, C4, P3, P4, referenced to linked ears), mental health measures [positive affect (PA), trait anxiety (TA), depression (DEP), satisfaction with life (SWL), negative affect (NA)], and physical activity measures were obtained from 15 male and 26 female (M age=68.7±5.8 yrs) adults. Resting frontal asymmetry (R-L alpha) was related to PA (r=0.28, P=0.04; i.e., greater relative activation in left vs right related to more positive affect) in the total group (n=41). In the high active group (n= 21), frontal asymmetry was related to PA (r=0.49, P=0.01), NA (r=-0.39, P= 0.04), SWL (r=0.31, P=0.09), and DEP (r=-0.28, P=0.11). In the low active group (n=20), frontal asymmetry was related to NA (r=0.40, P=0.04) Physical activity was also related to PA (r=0.48, P= 0.001), SWL (r=0.48, P=0.001), DEP (r=-0.31, P=0.03), and TA (r=0.29, P=0.03). Physical activity is positively related to mental health in older adults and there is a relationship between positive affect and frontal brain asymmetry. This brain activation-mental health relationship appears to be mediated by physical activity in older adults.

Supported by a grant from the UIUC Office of Gerontology & Aging Studies.