ABSTRACT
The main goal of this chapter is to examine the relation between improvements in aerobic
fitness and the cognitive function of sedentary older adults. An attempt has been made to
accomplish this goal in two ways: by a critical review of the liter ature and by presenting
the results of a recent study conducted in the authors’ laboratory. The main hypothesis for
this study, motivated by a critical analysis of the literature on fitness, aging, and
cognition, was that improvements in aerobic fitness would result in selective
improvements in cognitive function. More specifically, the authors predicted that
improvements would be observed in executive control processes (i.e., planning,
scheduling, coordination, inhibition), that is, those processes subserved largely by the
frontal and prefrontal regions of the brain.
