Smartphone app for lifestyle improvement improves brain health and boosts the vitality and cognitive function of healthy middle-aged adults.

Abstract

The number of smartphone apps for brain training is increasing, and the number of people who are working on brain training is also increasing. However, researchers disagree about the effectiveness of brain training. Therefore, in this study, we conducted an intervention test with the participation of 70 healthy middle-aged men and women and measured the effect of smartphone apps on lifestyle improvement using brain healthcare quotient calculated from brain imaging data. As a result, in the intervention group, significant improvements were seen in fractional anisotropy (FA) of the whole brain, corpus callosum, internal capsule, corona radiata, posterior thalamic radiation, external capsule, and superior longitudinal fasciculus. Additionally, in the intervention group, these FA increments correlated with improvements in cognitive function as measured by the trail-making test and vigor as measured by the Profile of Mood States 2nd Edition. The results of this study suggest that improving lifestyle habits through smartphone apps can improve brain health and cognitive and emotional performance of healthy middle-aged adults. This is consistent with previous research that suggests that FA integrity in the limbic-thalamo-cortical pathway influences cognitive function and emotion regulation.