Trial reportPloS one2021
12 weeks of strength training improves fluid cognition in older adults: A nonrandomized pilot trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 9 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of exercise on executive function in cognitively healthy older adults: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2026Pooled it
- Psychometric properties of the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery composites in older adults at risk for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: A systematic review.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2025Pooled it
- Mapping the relationships among sleep, motor balance, and cognition in older adults: a systematic scoping review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Pooled it
- The impact of resistance training on the cognitive health of older adults: a narrative review.Frontiers in aging · 2026Review
- Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Brain Age and Health in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Single-Arm Pilot Clinical Trial.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Associations between physical exercise type, fluid intelligence, executive function, and processing speed in the oldest-old (85 +).GeroScience · 2024Article
- Evaluation of taVNS for extreme environments: an exploration study of health benefits and stress operationality.Frontiers in neurology · 2023Article
- Effects of a 12-Week Periodized Resistance Training Program on Resting Brain Activity and Cerebrovascular Function: A Nonrandomized Pilot Trial.Neuroscience insights · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesResistance training (RT) is a promising strategy to slow or prevent fluid cognitive decline during aging. However, the effects of strength-specific RT programs have received little attention. The purpose of this single-group proof of concept clinical trial was to determine whether a 12-week strength training (ST) program could improve fluid cognition in healthy older adults 60 to 80 years of age, and to explore concomitant physiological and psychological changes.
methodsTwenty participants (69.1 ± 5.8 years, 14 women) completed this study with no drop-outs or severe adverse events. Baseline assessments were completed before an initial 12-week control period, then participants were re-tested at pre-intervention and after the 12-week ST intervention. The NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery and standard physical and psychological measures were administered at all three time points. During the 36 sessions of periodized ST (3 sessions per week), participants were supervised by an exercise specialist and challenged via autoregulatory load progression.
resultsTest-retest reliability over the control period was good for fluid cognition and excellent for crystallized cognition. Fluid composite scores significantly increased from pre- to post-intervention (8.2 ± 6.1%, p < 0.01, d = 1.27), while crystallized composite scores did not (-0.5 ± 2.8%, p = 0.46, d = -0.34). Performance on individual fluid instruments, including executive function, attention, working memory, and processing speed, also significantly improved. Surprisingly, changes in fluid composite scores had small negative correlations with changes in muscular strength and sleep quality, but a small positive correlation with changes in muscular power.
conclusionsThus, improvements in fluid cognition can be safely achieved in older adults using a 12-week high-intensity ST program, but further controlled studies are needed to confirm these findings. Furthermore, the relationship with other widespread physiological and psychological benefits remains unclear.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.