# Brain activation during dual-task processing is associated with cardiorespiratory fitness and performance in older adults

## TL;DR

Higher cardiorespiratory fitness in older adults is linked to better brain activation during dual tasks, which may improve cognitive performance.

## Contribution

This study shows that brain activation in the ACC/SMA mediates the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and dual-task performance in older adults.

## Key findings

- Higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with greater brain activation in regions like ACC/SMA, thalamus, and basal ganglia during dual tasks.
- ACC/SMA activation specifically mediates the link between cardiorespiratory fitness and improved dual-task performance.
- The findings suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness supports cognitive performance through enhanced brain activation in key regions.

## Abstract

Higher cardiorespiratory fitness is associated with better cognitive performance and enhanced brain activation. Yet, the extent to which cardiorespiratory fitness-related brain activation is associated with better cognitive performance is not well understood. In this cross-sectional study, we examined whether the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and executive function was mediated by greater prefrontal cortex activation in healthy older adults. Brain activation was measured during dual-task performance with functional magnetic resonance imaging in a sample of 128 healthy older adults (59–80 years). Higher cardiorespiratory fitness was associated with greater activation during dual-task processing in several brain areas including the anterior cingulate and supplementary motor cortex (ACC/SMA), thalamus and basal ganglia, right motor/somatosensory cortex and middle frontal gyrus, and left somatosensory cortex, controlling for age, sex, education, and gray matter volume. Of these regions, greater ACC/SMA activation mediated the association between cardiorespiratory fitness and dual-task performance. We provide novel evidence that cardiorespiratory fitness may support cognitive performance by facilitating brain activation in a core region critical for executive function.