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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Integr. Neurosci.
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnint.2024.1420339
This article is part of the Research Topic Mind-body medicine and its impacts on psychological networks, quality of life, and health - Volume II View all 23 articles

Differences in Brain Connectivity between Older Adults Practicing Tai Chi and Water Aerobics: A Case-Control Study

Provisionally accepted
Ana P. Port Ana P. Port 1Artur J. Marques Artur J. Marques 1Raymundo M. De Azevedo Neto Raymundo M. De Azevedo Neto 1Shirley Lacerda Shirley Lacerda 1João Radvany João Radvany 1Danilo F. Santaella Danilo F. Santaella 2Elisa H. Kozasa Elisa H. Kozasa 1*
  • 1 Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
  • 2 Center of Sports Practices, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: This study aimed to investigate the neural mechanisms that differentiate mind-body practices from aerobic physical activities and elucidate their effects on cognition and healthy aging. We examined functional brain connectivity in older adults (age>60) without pre-existing uncontrolled chronic diseases, comparing Tai Chi with Water Aerobics practitioners.We conducted a cross-sectional, case-control fMRI study involving two strictly matched groups (n = 32) based on gender, age, education, and years of practice. Seed-to-voxel analysis was performed using the Salience, and Frontoparietal Networks as seed regions in Stroop Word-Color and N-back tasks and Resting State.Results: During Resting State condition and using Salience network as a seed, Tai Chi group exhibited a stronger correlation between Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Insular Cortex areas (regions related to interoceptive awareness, cognitive control and motor organization of subjective aspects of experience). In N-Back task and using Salience network as seed, Tai Chi group showed increased correlation between Left Supramarginal Gyrus and various cerebellar regions (related to memory, attention, cognitive processing, sensorimotor control and cognitive flexibility). In Stroop task, using Salience network as seed, Tai Chi group showed enhanced correlation between Left Rostral Prefrontal Cortex and Right Occipital Pole, and Right Lateral Occipital Cortex (areas associated with sustained attention, prospective memory, mediate attention between external stimuli and internal intention). Additionally, in Stroop task, using Frontoparietal network as seed, Water Aerobics group exhibited a stronger correlation between Left Posterior Parietal Lobe (specialized in word meaning, representing motor actions, motor planning directed to objects, and general perception) and different cerebellar regions (linked to object mirroring).Our study provides evidence of differences in functional connectivity between older adults who have received training in a mind-body practice (Tai Chi) or in an aerobic physical activity (Water Aerobics) when performing attentional and working memory tasks, as well as during resting state.

    Keywords: Tai Chi, Longevity, Self-regulation, fMRI, functional connectivity, mind-body, Embodied Cognition, Stroop

    Received: 19 Apr 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Port, Marques, De Azevedo Neto, Lacerda, Radvany, Santaella and Kozasa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Elisa H. Kozasa, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

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