THE CONTRIBUTION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY TO NEUROIMAGING INDICES AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN HEART FAILURE

Cognitive impairment is common in persons with heart failure (HF). Increased physical activity and exercise are known contributors to cognitive performance in HF, but the mechanisms for this relationship are poorly understood. The current study examined whether specific neuroimaging indices (i.e. white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and medial temporal lobe atrophy (MTA)) mediate the relationship between physical activity and cognitive function in persons with HF. Eight-five HF patients completed a brief neuropsychological battery, brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), objective physical activity monitoring, and a series of medical history and self-report questionnaires. Partial correlations revealed that greater physical activity was associated with greater WMH (r(79) = .26, p = .02), but did not correlate with MTA (r(79) = .07, p = .56). Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that greater physical activity (¿F(4,79) = 3.52, ¿R2 = .00, p = .01) and greater abnormalities on the neuroimaging indices (¿F(3,80) = 4.749, p < .01) showed predictive validity for better language functioning, but that this was not additive from control variables. Bootstrapping mediation regression analyses showed that neither WMH nor MTA mediated the relationship between physical activity and language. These findings demonstrate that, although greater physical activity is related to better language performance in HF patients, neither WMH nor MTA mediate this relationship. Further work is needed to clarify the mechanisms linking physical activity and cognitive function in HF.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Psychological Sciences

Grantor dc:publisher

Kent State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Garcia, Sarah L.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Gunstad, John

• Health
• Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1366114402

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:kent1366114402