Method 1: Obtain participants and assess them to limit variables

180 participants will be randomly assigned to either a moderate-intensity walking

exercise group or a stretching-toning control group. BDNF levels will be obtained via blood
samples before and after the exercise intervention. Changes in hippocampal volume, brain
connectivity, white matter integrity, and task-switching performance will be observed (Leckie,
2014). Previous studies have illustrated positive effects of exercise in these areas (Erickson et al.
2011), (Voss et al. 2010a,b,2013), (McAuley et al. 2011). Pre-requisites for the participants
include: strong right handedness, be between the ages of 55 to 80, score greater than 51 on MiniMental Status Examination, score < 3 on Geriatric Depression Scale, have normal color vision,
have 20/40 vision, and no history of neurological diseases, cardiovascular disease, or diabetes.
Specific assessment of the participants is implemented to create less variables in the experiment
and standardize the participants to have more accurate data.

Aerobic Fitness Assessment

While on a treadmill, participants maximum oxygen level will be measured to assess
initial cardiovascular fitness by monitoring respiration, heart rate, and blood pressure (Voss et al.
2010a), (Leckie, 2014).

Training Protocol
Participants will be designated into an aerobic exercise condition or stretching and toning
control condition. Led by fitness instructors, the aerobic exercise condition will begin each
exercise session with 5 minute stretching. Participants will walk for 10 minutes and the walking
time will increase 5 minutes every session until they reached 40 minutes at week 7 (Leckie,

2014). Every session after will last 40 minutes (Leckie, 2014). The Karvonen Method will be
used to track heart rate, specifically 50-60% of max heart rate for weeks 1-7, and 60-75% for
remainder of the experiment (Strath et al. 2000).
The stretching and toning control condition will also be led by trained fitness instructors.
The regiment will consist of a variety of balance-improvement exercises, yoga, and an exercise
chosen by the participant. The workout routine will be changed every three weeks to maintain
interest (Leckie, 2014). The first week will serve to introduce the new exercises. After
familiarizing the group to the exercises, the next two weeks will focus on increasing the intensity
of workouts by adding more weight or repetitions (Leckie, 2014). The participants will be
encouraged to maintain an exercise intensity of 13-15 on the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion
Scale. This scale will be used as it has been successful in the past for gauging exercise effort
(Borg 1985).

Method 2: Task-Switch Performance

The task-switch paradigm is the method that will be employed to examine executive
function. This procedure is known to successfully evaluate brain activity (Kramer et al. 1999a;
Kray and Lindenberger, 2000; Gratton et al. 2009; Gold et al. 2010; Jimura and Braver, 2010).
The task-switch paradigm uses colors and numbers. Random numbers will be displayed to the
participants for 1500 ms along with either a blue or pink colored background (Voss et al. 2010a).
If a number is displayed in tandem with a blue background, participants must judge the number
to be high or low (criteria is higher or lower than 5). If it displayed with a pink background, then
the number must be judged to be odd or even. We will follow a schedule for the test as follows:
the assessment will begin with a practice phase which will proceed into a phase of presenting

high/low numbers. The next phase will display odd/even numbers. The last phase, known as the
switch phase, will consist of 120 trials of randomly chosen tasks.