NEW ORLEANS—Light-, moderate-, and vigorous-intensity treadmill walking may particularly improve inhibitory control in fully ambulatory people with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to research described at the ACTRIMS 2016 Forum. Furthermore, the increase in core body temperature associated with such exercise may not negate its potentially beneficial effects on inhibitory control.
“This [study] represents the next step in delineating the optimal exercise stimuli for improving cognition in fully ambulatory persons with MS and supports the feasibility of chronic treadmill walking exercise training for improving inhibitory control in thermosensitive persons with MS,” said Brian M. Sandroff, PhD, of the Kessler Foundation in West Orange, New Jersey.
Brian M. Sandroff, PhD
Exercise training is a promising approach for managing cognitive impairment in persons with MS. Although preliminary evidence indicates that treadmill walking might have the greatest beneficial effects on inhibitory control, compared with other forms of exercise, in fully ambulatory persons with MS, the effects of varying intensities of treadmill walking exercise on inhibitory control are unknown. In addition, previous research has not indicated whether increases in core body temperature negate the potentially beneficial effects of treadmill walking exercise on inhibitory control in thermosensitive people with MS.
To better determine the optimal form of exercise for improving cognition in MS, Dr. Sandroff and colleagues first compared the acute effects of light-, moderate-, and vigorous-intensity treadmill walking exercise on inhibitory control in 24 participants with MS using a within-subjects, repeated-measures design. In a second study, the researchers examined the acute effects of core body temperature on inhibitory control during vigorous treadmill walking exercise in 14 thermosensitive persons with MS.
Participants in the first study completed four experimental conditions (ie, 20 minutes of light-, moderate-, and vigorous-intensity treadmill walking exercise and quiet rest) in a randomized, counterbalanced order. The investigators measured inhibitory control before and after each condition using a modified flanker task. In the second study, thermosensitive participants with MS completed two experimental conditions (ie, 20 minutes of vigorous treadmill walking exercise and 20 minutes of quiet rest) in a randomized, counterbalanced order. The researchers measured core body temperature throughout both conditions. Inhibitory control was measured before and after each condition using a modified flanker task.
In the first study, the investigators observed large, statistically significant improvements in inhibitory control for all three intensities of treadmill walking exercise, compared with quiet rest. The improvements were of similar magnitude. The second study indicated that, compared with rest, vigorous exercise was followed by improvements in inhibitory control, despite significant elevations in core body temperature (~0.6 °C) in thermosensitive persons with MS.