Higher volumes of physical exercise in older adults with cognitive impairment are associated with superior inhibitory control and cognitive performance, with θ(FP1+FP2) power and inhibitory control mediating 39.0% of the total association between physical exercise and cognitive function.
Cognitive function was significantly associated with inhibitory control in older adults with cognitive impairment.
θ(FP1+FP2) power emerged as a specific EEG indicator correlated with both cognitive function and inhibitory control.
A significant negative correlation was observed between physical exercise volume and resting-state θ(FP1+FP2) power.
Physical exercise had a significant direct association with cognitive function in older adults with cognitive impairment.
Physical exercise was indirectly associated with cognitive function through three significant mediation pathways.
Exploratory structural equation modeling (SEM) suggested that θ(FP1+FP2) power and inhibitory control may statistically mediate the association between physical exercise and cognitive function.
This research suggests that physical exercise is linked to better cognitive health in older adults who already show signs of cognitive impairment, and that this relationship works partly through the brain's own electrical activity and through a mental skill called inhibitory control (the ability to suppress irrelevant or distracting information). The study measured brain waves (EEG) at rest in 209 older adults, had them complete a color-word interference task to test inhibitory control, and asked them about their physical activity levels. It found that people who exercised more tended to have lower levels of a specific type of brain wave activity in the front of the brain (theta waves at prefrontal sites FP1 and FP2) and performed better on tests of both inhibitory control and overall cognitive function. The study mapped out three indirect pathways through which exercise relates to better cognition: exercise is associated with lower prefrontal theta brain activity, which in turn is associated with better inhibitory control, which then relates to better overall cognitive function. Together, these indirect pathways explained about 39% of the total relationship between exercise and cognitive function, while the remaining 61% was a direct association. This suggests that exercise benefits the aging brain through multiple mechanisms simultaneously, including changes in resting brain activity patterns and improvements in the ability to focus and filter out distractions. This research suggests that physical activity may be a meaningful factor in maintaining cognitive health in older adults, and that brain wave patterns (specifically prefrontal theta activity) and inhibitory control could be important targets or indicators in this relationship. Because this is a cross-sectional observational study, it cannot prove that exercise causes these brain changes or cognitive improvements, but it identifies plausible neurological pathways that future experimental research could test more rigorously.
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Upload Your LabsXie B, Wang F, Xu S, Wei C, Meng T. (2026). The correlation between physical exercise and cognitive function in older adults with cognitive impairment mediated by inhibitory control and possible cognitive processing mechanisms.. Frontiers in public health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1818047