Vascular Roads to a Healthier Brain: Lutein Moderates the Influence of Arterial Stiffness on Cognitive Function.

Background: Arterial stiffness, assessed via carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), is a marker of vascular aging that may contribute to cognitive decline. Serum carotenoids, with antioxidant properties, may mitigate these effects, but their role in moderating neurovascular-cognitive relationships remains unclear.

Objective: This study examined: (1) associations between cfPWV and executive function, (2) the contribution of serum carotenoids in predicting cfPWV, and (3) whether carotenoids moderate the relationship between cfPWV and executive function.

Effects of an acute bout of cycling on different domains of cognitive function.

The literature suggesting acute exercise benefits cognitive function has been largely confined to single cognitive domains and measures of reliant on measures of central tendencies. Furthermore, studies suggest cognitive intra-individual variability (IIV) to reflect cognitive efficiency and provide unique insights into cognitive function, but there is limited knowledge on the effects of acute exercise on IIV. To this end, this study examined the effects of acute exercise on three different cognitive domains, executive function, implicit learning, and hippocampal-dependent memory function using behavioral performance and event-related potentials (ERPs).