**3. Discussion**

Elderly practicing weight exercises, demonstrated better cognitive performance than the sedentary ones in the detection tests with the simple reaction time, Identification paradigm with the time paradigm of Reaction of Choice and the One Turn (UV) test that has the working memory paradigm.

In the present study, in the investigations of Dias et al. [20] with 104 elderly people, where the differences in the cognitive aspects between physical exercise practitioners (G1) and non-practitioners (G2) were evaluated, it was observed that

**87**

**4. Conclusions**

physical activity.

the memory and work paradigm.

memory, that is, with the knowledge already stored.

function, when compared to non-practicing elderly.

*Comparison of Cognitive Performance between Elderly Training Practices with Weights…*

study used the same battery of cognitive tests as the present study.

G1 showed better than G2, in the tests that evaluated the reaction time of choice paradigms where they obtained a reduction of 104.45 ms; in the time of simple reaction, the reduction was of 86.54 ms. However, the results differed according to the working memory paradigm, when G1 showed worse performance than G2. The

In a comparative study of active, intermediate, and sedentary elderly women presenting different histories of physical and intellectual activity, a trend was observed among sedentary elderly women, presenting a lower performance in the tests with SRT and SRT paradigms than the physically active elderly women. However, the study did not show statistically significant differences, differing from the present study where there were significant differences in the SRT and SRT paradigms. Luft et al. [21] point out that this may have occurred due to the aging

Contrasting to the results of the present study, the Rossato et al. [22] analysis, where they investigated the correlation between the reaction time and cognitive status in 77 elderly women practicing physical activities, presented a satisfactory performance in the Mini score (MNSE), which averaged 26.56 points, and for the simple reaction time paradigm, it was unsatisfactory where the mean was 605.65, and it was found that there was a statistically significant correlation between the SRT paradigm (ms) and the cognitive state of p = 0.023, however, the weak relation. It is worth mentioning that the protocol performed in the mentioned study is different from the current one, being considered gold standard. The same case occurs in the analyses of Corazza et al. [23], performed with 90 elderly, called (G1) practitioners of regular physical exercises and (G2) non-practitioners, in which the simple response time tests were compared (RTC), where there were no significant differences between groups G1 and G2; for the TRS paradigms obtained only a reduction of 0.33 ms and for ERT of 1 ms, diverging from the present study. These results can be explained by the virtue of the instrument used; in addition to that, the above study correlated reaction time with cognitive status exclusively in elderly women practicing

Findings by Lachman et al. [24], with 210 elderly practicing resistance training, obtained an improvement in the working memory paradigm, only in the group with the greatest evolution of loads during training. The same occurs in the study of Cassilhas et al. [25]; however, 62 elderly subjects were submitted to 24 weeks of training in 2 intensities. Meanwhile, in the study by Busse et al. [15], a significant improvement was verified in the tests of mental behavior of memory and muscular strength, in addition to the occurrence of an improvement in the performance of

It is understood as working memory, the cognitive component connected to memory, which allows the temporary storage of information with limited capacity. According to Alloway [26], the limited capacity of working memory varies greatly between individuals and is closely related to learning skills. In addition to manipulating new information from the sensory pathways, it connects with long-term

Thus it is evident that the practice of resistance exercises can contribute significantly to improvement or at least to maintenance of some components of cognitive

Physical activity represents an important non-medicinal contribution to the evolution of cognitive performance. However, it is necessarily based on literatures,

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89264*

process being more complex in the elderly.

### *Comparison of Cognitive Performance between Elderly Training Practices with Weights… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.89264*

G1 showed better than G2, in the tests that evaluated the reaction time of choice paradigms where they obtained a reduction of 104.45 ms; in the time of simple reaction, the reduction was of 86.54 ms. However, the results differed according to the working memory paradigm, when G1 showed worse performance than G2. The study used the same battery of cognitive tests as the present study.

In a comparative study of active, intermediate, and sedentary elderly women presenting different histories of physical and intellectual activity, a trend was observed among sedentary elderly women, presenting a lower performance in the tests with SRT and SRT paradigms than the physically active elderly women. However, the study did not show statistically significant differences, differing from the present study where there were significant differences in the SRT and SRT paradigms. Luft et al. [21] point out that this may have occurred due to the aging process being more complex in the elderly.

Contrasting to the results of the present study, the Rossato et al. [22] analysis, where they investigated the correlation between the reaction time and cognitive status in 77 elderly women practicing physical activities, presented a satisfactory performance in the Mini score (MNSE), which averaged 26.56 points, and for the simple reaction time paradigm, it was unsatisfactory where the mean was 605.65, and it was found that there was a statistically significant correlation between the SRT paradigm (ms) and the cognitive state of p = 0.023, however, the weak relation.

It is worth mentioning that the protocol performed in the mentioned study is different from the current one, being considered gold standard. The same case occurs in the analyses of Corazza et al. [23], performed with 90 elderly, called (G1) practitioners of regular physical exercises and (G2) non-practitioners, in which the simple response time tests were compared (RTC), where there were no significant differences between groups G1 and G2; for the TRS paradigms obtained only a reduction of 0.33 ms and for ERT of 1 ms, diverging from the present study. These results can be explained by the virtue of the instrument used; in addition to that, the above study correlated reaction time with cognitive status exclusively in elderly women practicing physical activity.

Findings by Lachman et al. [24], with 210 elderly practicing resistance training, obtained an improvement in the working memory paradigm, only in the group with the greatest evolution of loads during training. The same occurs in the study of Cassilhas et al. [25]; however, 62 elderly subjects were submitted to 24 weeks of training in 2 intensities. Meanwhile, in the study by Busse et al. [15], a significant improvement was verified in the tests of mental behavior of memory and muscular strength, in addition to the occurrence of an improvement in the performance of the memory and work paradigm.

It is understood as working memory, the cognitive component connected to memory, which allows the temporary storage of information with limited capacity. According to Alloway [26], the limited capacity of working memory varies greatly between individuals and is closely related to learning skills. In addition to manipulating new information from the sensory pathways, it connects with long-term memory, that is, with the knowledge already stored.

Thus it is evident that the practice of resistance exercises can contribute significantly to improvement or at least to maintenance of some components of cognitive function, when compared to non-practicing elderly.
