Examination of P300 in Veteran Males: Aging, Physical Activity and Cognitive Processing

Aim: In the recent years, the effects of long term exercise on physiological systems have been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of long-term physical exercise on cognitive processing in elderly male athletes. Materials and Methods: Master athletes who had been exercising regularly (EME), healthy sedentary elderly volunteers (HSE) and healthy sedentary middle-aged volunteers (HSMA) were included in the study. Indirect maximum oxygen uptake capacity (VO2max) was determined by Astrand Test. Cognitive function (P300) was recorded at the same time of the day and in the same setting in all subjects Results: Mean latency of P300 was 320.50±20.4 ms in EME, 344.70±24.48 ms in the HSE and 303.20±33.79 ms in the HSMA group. Mean amplitudes of P300 were 11.03 ±7.60 mV, 10.39±5.48 mV and 23.90 ±9.56mV in the EME, HSE and HSMA groups, respectively. Mean indirect maximum oxygen uptake capacity was 32.18±5.7, 18.07±5.0 and 15.8±5.0 ml/min/kg in the HSE, EME and HSMA groups, respectively Conclusion: Results of this study indicate that long-term regular exercise affected cognitive functions positively. Even though the difference in P300 latency and amplitude between EME and HSMA groups was not statistically significant, that between HSE and HSMA was. We conclude that long-term exercise slows down the age-related decline in physical and cognitive performance