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Spatial navigation, physical activity, and Alzheimer disease biomarkers
Marta Stojanovic, Samantha L. Allison, Suzanne E. Schindler, Denise M Head. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2023
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Abstract Background Elevated levels of amyloid are associated with worse performance on cognitive mapping (CM), a spatial navigation task reliant on the hippocampus. Prior animal work found that exercise is associated with better learning in CM tasks. Hence, the first goal of the study was to examine whether physical activity moderates the relationship between amyloid deposition and CM. In addition, spatial navigation ability predicts Alzheimer disease (AD) clinical progression but there is a need to examine whether it also predicts subsequent levels of amyloid and tau. Hence, the second goal was to examine whether CM predicts later levels of PET‐Tau and longitudinal trajectories of PET‐Amyloid. Method Cognitively normal individuals (n = 65; age range 50‐84 years) were administered a CM task in a virtual environment and a self‐report measure of physical activity. For cross‐sectional analyses, amyloid deposition was estimated via cerebrospinal fluid levels of Aβ42. One assessment of PET‐Tau (n = 49) and repeated assessments of PET‐Amyloid (n = 59) were obtained following the CM session. Result Concurrent amyloid deposition was associated with reduced learning (p = 0.002) and retention of the environment (p = 0.002) while greater physical activity was associated with better learning (p = 0.004). There was no moderation by physical activity (all p’s > 0.156). CM performance was not associated with longitudinal trajectories of PET‐Amyloid (all p’s > 0.330) or the subsequent levels of PET‐Tau (all p’s > 0.572). Conclusion These results suggest that both current physical activity and levels of amyloid can be important predictors of spatial navigation skills. However, CM might be a limited predictor of AD biomarker accumulation. Future studies should use a larger sample size and greater number of assessments to examine these questions.
Key findings
- Abstract Background Elevated levels of amyloid are associated with worse performance on cognitive mapping (CM), a spatial navigation task reliant on the hippocampus.
- Prior animal work found that exercise is associated with better learning in CM tasks.
- Result Concurrent amyloid deposition was associated with reduced learning (p = 0.002) and retention of the environment (p = 0.002) while greater physical activity was associated with better learning (p = 0.004).
- CM performance was not associated with longitudinal trajectories of PET‐Amyloid (all p’s > 0.330) or the subsequent levels of PET‐Tau (all p’s > 0.572).
- Conclusion These results suggest that both current physical activity and levels of amyloid can be important predictors of spatial navigation skills.
Why it matters
In this small study of cognitively normal adults, higher amyloid levels were linked to worse performance on a spatial navigation task, and greater physical activity was linked to better learning, but physical activity did not change the relationship between amyloid and learning. Spatial navigation performance did not predict later tau or amyloid levels, so it is unclear whether this task can be used to track Alzheimer's disease progression.
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Study details
- Study designlongitudinal study
- Participants65
- Evidence strengthModerate
How this study scored 43/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a longitudinal study following the same people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 7 / 12 | A longitudinal study following the same people over time |
| Strength of evidence | 3 / 5 | Rated “moderate” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2023 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 1 / 4 | 65 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 0 / 7 | Cited 0 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.0 citations a year over 5 year(s) since 2023 |
| Impact for its field and year | 0 / 6 | Cited 0.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Denise M Head: h-index 44 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Washington University in St. Louis: institution h-index 1,962 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 1 / 2 | Not in PubMed, but has a DOI |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 43 / 100 | — |
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Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Stojanovic, M., Allison, S. L., Schindler, S. E., & Head, D. M. (2023). Spatial navigation, physical activity, and Alzheimer disease biomarkers. Alzheimer's & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.077004
Vancouver
Stojanovic M, Allison SL, Schindler SE, Head DM. Spatial navigation, physical activity, and Alzheimer disease biomarkers. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2023. doi:10.1002/alz.077004.
BibTeX
@article{stojanovic2023-061e8f8a,
author = {Stojanovic, Marta and Allison, Samantha L. and Schindler, Suzanne E. and Head, Denise M},
title = {{Spatial navigation, physical activity, and Alzheimer disease biomarkers}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& Dementia},
year = {2023},
doi = {10.1002/alz.077004},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.077004}
}