Differences in cerebrovascular regulation and ventilatory responses during ramp incremental cycling in children, adolescents, and adults

This is the first study to observe similar increases in cerebral blood flow during incremental exercise in adolescents and adults. Increases in cerebral blood flow during exercise were smaller in children compared with adolescents and adults and were associated with a greater V̇E/V̇co2 slope. This study also provides the first evidence on the progressive development of the regulatory role of end-tidal CO2 on cerebral blood flow during exercise during the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Aerobic exercise improves cognition and cerebrovascular regulation in older adults

ObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that aerobic exercise is associated with improvements in cognition and cerebrovascular regulation, we enrolled 206 healthy low-active middle-aged and older adults (mean ± SD age 65.9 ± 6.4 years) in a supervised 6-month aerobic exercise intervention and assessed them before and after the intervention.MethodsThe study is a quasi-experimental single group pre/postintervention study. Neuropsychological tests were used to assess cognition before and after the intervention. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound was used to measure cerebral blood flow velocity. Cerebrovascular regulation was assessed at rest, during euoxic hypercapnia, and in response to submaximal exercise. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the association between changes in cognition and changes in cerebrovascular function.ResultsThe intervention was associated with improvements in some cognitive domains, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cerebrovascular regulation. Changes in executive functions were negatively associated with changes in cerebrovascular resistance index (CVRi) during submaximal exercise (β = −0.205, p = 0.013), while fluency improvements were positively associated with changes in CVRi during hypercapnia (β = 0.106, p = 0.03).ConclusionThe 6-month aerobic exercise intervention was associated with improvements in some cognitive domains and cerebrovascular regulation. Secondary analyses showed a novel association between changes in cognition and changes in cerebrovascular regulation during euoxic hypercapnia and in response to submaximal exercise.

Longitudinal study of cerebral blood flow regulation during exercise in pregnancy

Cerebrovascular adaptation to pregnancy is poorly understood. We sought to assess cerebrovascular regulation in response to visual stimulation, hypercapnia and exercise across the three trimesters of pregnancy. Using transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasound, middle and posterior cerebral artery mean blood velocities (MCAvmean and PCAvmean) were measured continuously at rest and in response to (1) visual stimulation to assess neurovascular coupling (NVC); (2) a modified Duffin hyperoxic CO2 rebreathe test, and (3) an incremental cycling exercise test to volitional fatigue in non-pregnant ( n = 26; NP) and pregnant women (first trimester [ n = 13; TM1], second trimester [ n = 21; TM2], and third trimester [ n = 20; TM3]) in total 47 women. At rest, MCAvmean and PETCO2 were lower in TM2 compared to NP. PCAvmean was lower in TM2 but not TM1 or TM3 compared to NP. Cerebrovascular reactivity in MCAvmean and PCAvmean during the hypercapnic rebreathing test was not different between pregnant and non-pregnant women. MCAvmean continued to increase over the second half of the exercise test in TM2 and TM3, while it decreased in NP due to differences in ΔPETCO2 between groups. Pregnant women experienced a delayed decrease in MCAvmean in response to maximal exercise compared to non-pregnant controls which was explained by CO2 reactivity and PETCO2 level.