Abstract
Video game training with older adults potentially enhances aspects of cognition that decline with aging and could therefore offer a promising training approach. Although, previous published studies suggest that training can produce transfer, many of them have certain shortcomings. This randomized controlled trial (RCT; Clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT02796508) tried to overcome some of these limitations by incorporating an active control group and the assessment of motivation and expectations. Seventy-five older volunteers were randomly assigned to the experimental group trained for 16 sessions with non-action video games from Lumosity, a commercial platform (http://www.lumosity.com/) or to an active control group trained for the same number of sessions with simulation strategy games. The final sample included 55 older adults (30 in the experimental group and 25 in the active control group). Participants were tested individually before and after training to assess working memory (WM) and selective attention and also reported their perceived improvement, motivation and engagement. The results showed improved performance across the training sessions. The main results were: (1) the experimental group did not show greater improvements in measures of selective attention and working memory than the active control group (the opposite occurred in the oddball task); (2) a marginal training effect was observed for the N-back task, but not for the Stroop task while both groups improved in the Corsi Blocks task. Based on these results, one can conclude that training with non-action games provide modest benefits for untrained tasks. The effect is not specific for that kind of training as a similar effect was observed for strategy video games. Groups did not differ in motivation, engagement or expectations.
Highlights
Aging produces declines in several cognitive processes, especially in executive function and attentional control, mediated by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
Non-specific factors like expectancy, motivation, and engagement, as well as the quality of the active control group, are important aspects of the intervention design that should be taken into account to be certain that computerized cognitive training is a good method for enhancing cognition (Motter et al, 2016)
We considered whether perceived improvements in attention and working memory differed between groups
Summary
Aging produces declines in several cognitive processes, especially in executive function and attentional control, mediated by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex facilitates the organization and contextualization of incoming information and interacts with the hippocampus when carrying out working memory (WM) tasks (Baddeley, 2003; Dennis et al, 2008; Spaniol et al, 2009) The failure of these basic cognitive abilities is a significant predictor of older adults’ difficulties with the instrumental activities of daily living, leading to loss of independence (Owsley et al, 2002). Selective attention filters out irrelevant information, enhancing encoding, and maintenance of information in working memory (Blacker et al, 2014) This is important, as WM is a capacitylimited cognitive system responsible for temporarily storing and actively processing information needed for ongoing cognition. A question of great practical relevance is whether WM training methods are effective in older adults, their effect size, their cost effectiveness, and how they affect untrained tasks, in near (between very similar but not identical contexts) and far transfer (between contexts that appear on the surface to be remote and unrelated to each other)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
