A Brief Study Of Cognition
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The goal of this experiment was to determine the relation between cognition
and fitness in the senior citizen population.
METHODS: For the purpose of obtaining cognitive abilities, 41 participants completed a
written exam called the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) in a quiet location. No more
than one participant was allowed to be in the testing area at a time. Before beginning the exam,
participants were asked to complete a consent document. Participants were then asked to
complete a series of questions pertaining to visual spatial awareness, memory, naming, attention,
language, abstraction, delayed recall, and orientation. After completion, no participant was given
his or her individual score and was asked to enter the Biomechanics lab for fitness testing.
The fitness test consisted of chair stands, arm curls, grip strength, sit & reach, back scratch, and a
two minute step test. Chair stands consisted of having the participants sit in a chair with their
arms folded across their chest. They were instructed to stand up from the chair and sit back down
as many times as possible in a thirty second period. For thirty seconds, arm curls were done (men
were given 5 pound weights. Women were given 2.5 pound weights) starting at a 45 degree
angle at the elbow and performed until complete elbow flexion. Grip strength was measured
using a hand held dynamometer. Grip strength was measured three times and the average was
recorded. For the sit and reach, participants were asked to sit down in a chair, completely extend
a knee of their choice, place one hand on top of the other, and reach down the extended leg to
touch their toes. The distance from finger to toe was measured with a ruler. Participants were
given positive distances if their fingers surpassed the length of their toes and negative distances
if their fingers did not reach their toes. Back scratch was measured by having participants place
one hand behind their back and the other hand over their shoulder. The distance between the two
hands was recorded. Any overlap of the hands resulted in a positive value while any distance
between the hands was marked as a negative value. The two minute step test was performed by
having each participant stand up and lift their knees in place for two minutes. The number of
knee lifts was recorded.
RESULTS: 41 people participated in the study (32 females and 9 males). Three participants
were African American, two were Middle Eastern, two were Asian, and 34 were Caucasian. All
participants were between the ages of 55 and 90 years. The correlation coefficient for the
MOCA scores and the scores for the back scratch, two minute step, and smell test were r =
0.043,0.397, and 0.321, respectively. The coefficient for back scratch shows no relationship
between MOCA scores. However, the other two variables show a moderate, positive relationship
between MOCA scores. The correlation coefficient for chair stands and arm curls in relation to
cognitive scores, were r = 0.265 and 0.287, respectively. The scores depict a weak, positive
relationship. The correlation coefficient for grip strength and sit and reach were r =
-0.143 and r = -0.243, respectively which shows a weak, inverse relationship in regards to
cognitive ability versus grip strength and flexibility.
CONCLUSION: Results from the research study suggest that cognitive performance may be a
slight indicator of fitness performance.