There is substantial evidence supporting aerobic exercise as an efficable opponent of the growing problem of cognitive decline (CD). Most exercise interventions have examined their relationship to brain health using simple aerobic exercises and achieved favorable results. There is potential to improve cognitive outcomes by using a complex aerobic exercise such as video dance. In this study, we compared brain activation from the digit symbol substitution task in 39 postmenopausal women (mean age = 55.2 years, SD = 10.2 years, mean weight = 175.8 lbs., SD 24.0) who completed baseline and follow-up fMRI scans. These women were divided into three groups; video dance, walk and delayed entry controls. Activation maps were created for the change between baseline and follow-up time points for each group: video dance, walk and delayed entry controls. The activation maps were qualitatively examined for differences between the three groups. Results indicate that the video dance group showed significant, positive activation in areas of the brain associated with executive function potentially due to the complexity of the exercise intervention. The public health significance of these finds are that video dance is an inexpensive, safe, and easy to implement intervention which may impede the progression of cognitive decline and decrease the expression of CD and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) symptoms, and could lead to the decrease of disease in the population. Any reduction in the incidence of CD also reduces stress on the healthcare system, individuals, and reduces the overall prevalence of disease in the population.
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