Abstract #2871

Relationship Between Cardiovascular Health, Cerebral Physiology and Cognition in Healthy Aging

Claudine Jolle Gauthier¹, Muriel Lefort², Sad Mekary³, Laurence Desjardins-Crpeau³, Ccile Madjar³, Louis Bherer⁴, Frdrique Frouin², Richard D. Hoge⁵

¹Neurophysics, Max Planck Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Saxony, Germany; ²Inserm 678, UPMC, CHU Piti Salptrire, Paris, Ile-de-France, France; ³CRIUGM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; ⁴Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; ⁵Physiology, CRIUGM/Universit de Montral, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Arteries throughout the body stiffen with age, but vessel hardening may start at the level of the aorta and progress to other organs, including the brain. Vascular impairment may contribute to cognitive changes observed with aging. Furthermore, it may be that regular exercise acts as a modulator to partially attenuate the effects of age on vascular and metabolic physiology. Here we show imaging results indicative of a link between vascular health at the level of the aorta, the carotids and the brain with measures of cardiovascular fitness and cognition.