| Objective: Along with the rapid development of modern economy and changes in living environment,the prevalence of diabetes in middle-aged and elderly people is increasing year by year,which not only affects physical and mental health,but also leads to impaired cognitive function of the brain.Previous studies have shown that tai chi can effectively improve the physical symptoms of diabetic patients,but it is unclear whether tai chi can enhance the cognitive function of middle-aged and elderly patients with prediabetes and its brain mechanism.Therefore,the aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory control and conversion functions of tai chi exercise on middle-aged and elderly people with prediabetes.Methods:In this study,36 middle-aged and elderly people with prediabetes were recruited to participate in the experiment and randomly assigned to the experimental tai chi group and the control group,18 people in each group.The tai chi intervention cycle was 12 weeks,three times a week for 60 minutes,and the control group did not participate in tai chi exercise.All participants were asked to complete the Oddball and Faceshift tasks before and after the intervention to examine changes in the subjects’ inhibitory control and conversion functions before and after the intervention,respectively.Oxygen and hemoglobin(Oxy-Hb)concentrations in the prefrontal area of interest were also monitored using near infrared imaging(f NIRS)to investigate the activation levels in the corresponding brain regions of the cerebral cortex during the cognitive tasks.Some patient data were lost during the tai chi exercise and at pre-and post-intervention times,resulting in 32 participants in the Oddball task(15 in the experimental group and 17 in the control group)and 28 participants in the Faceshift task(14 in the experimental group and 14 in the control group)data being included in the statistical analysis.Results:(1)The results of Oddball task behavioral showed that the interference effect was significantly less in the experimental group after the intervention than before the intervention(P<0.05)on the response time index,while there was no significant difference between the control group before and after the intervention.f NIRS results showed that the concentration of Oxy-Hb activation was significantly higher in the experimental group after the intervention in the left dorsolateral prefrontal region than before the intervention(P<0.05),while the control group There was no significant difference between the pre-intervention and post-intervention groups.(2)The results of Faceshift task behavior showed that the interference effect was significantly less in the experimental group than in the pre-intervention(P<0.05),while there was no significant difference between the pre-intervention and post-intervention groups in the control group.f NIRS results showed that the Oxy-Hb activation concentrations were significantly higher in the right frontopolar and left dorsolateral prefrontal regions in the experimental group than in the pre-intervention,while there was no significant difference in the control group(P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the control group(P<0.05).Conclusion:(1)12 weeks of tai chi exercise improved inhibitory control in prediabetic middle-aged and older adults,behaviorally showing a smaller interference effect,which showed synchrony with brain activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal area of the brain;(2)12 weeks of tai chi exercise improved conversion function in prediabetic middle-aged and older adults,behaviorally showing a smaller conversion cost,which showed synchrony with brain activation in the right frontopolar and left dorsolateral prefrontal areas exhibited synchrony;(3)12 weeks of tai chi exercise did not significantly improve fasting glucose and postprandial glucose concentration changes in middle-aged and elderly people with prediabetes. |
PDF Full Text Request