Frontal asymmetry, dispositional affect, and physical activity in older adults

Physical activity has been consistently linked to better mental health-grea ter positive affect and life satisfaction, less negative affect, anxiety, a nd depression (Petruzzello et al., 1991; McAuley & Rudolph, 1995). Brain ac tivation patterns have been linked to dispositional affect: greater relativ e left anterior hemisphere activation relates to positive affect, and great er relative right anterior activation relates to negative affect(Davidson, 1992). In this study, measures of resting EEG frontal asymmetry, dispositio nal affect, and physical activity were obtained from 41 older adults. Front al asymmetry significantly predicted positive affect. In the high active gr oup (n = 21), frontal asymmetry significantly predicted affective valence a nd satisfaction with life; in the low active group (n = 20), it significant ly predicted negative affect. Physical activity was also significantly rela ted to better dispositional affect. These findings suggest that the relatio nship between frontal brain activity and dispositional affect is influenced by physical activity in older adults.