Effects of Brain Games on Global Cognition among Older Filipinos

Abstract

Objective. This study ascertained the effects of brain games on global cognition among older Filipinos. Methods. A quasi-experimental design was used. The participants were 60 elderly Filipinos, aged 60 to 93 years, residing in Baguio City, and were not engaging in any physical or nutritional interventions to improve cognitive function. None have subclinical cognitive impairments as screened using the Mini-Cognitive Examination. The Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III (ACE-III) tool which correlated significantly with standard neuropsychological tests, and provided a high internal reliability score of 0.88, was used. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.Results. Pretest mean scores of both active control and experimental groups increased in the posttest. Additionally, both coloring and brain games had extremely significant effects on global cognition (p=0.0001). Lastly, the unrelated t-test revealed extremely significant difference between the effects of brain games and coloring on global cognition (p=0.0001).Conclusions. Based on the results, brain games showed evidence of effectiveness in improving global cognition, and that compared to coloring, it is more effective in improving global cognition among older Filipinos. Variables like motivation and expectancy effects influence the improvement in global cognition among older Filipinos. Lastly, cognitive training using brain games show promise as a non-pharmacologic intervention to address cognitive decline.