The Feasibility and Potential Impact of Brain Training Games on Cognitive and Emotional Functioning in Middle-Aged Adults.

Paula M Mclaughlin,Ashley F Curtis,Janna K Comrie,Laura M Branscombe-Caird,Susan J.E Murtha

doi:10.1089/g4h.2017.0032

Abstract

Objectives:To investigate whether a commercially available brain training program is feasible to use with a middle-aged population and has a potential impact on cognition and emotional well-being (proof of concept).Method: Fourteen participants (ages 46–55) completed two 6-week training conditions using a crossover (counterbalanced) design: (1) experimental brain training condition and (2) active control “find answers to trivia questions online” condition. A comprehensive neurocognitive battery and a self-report measure of depression and anxiety were administered at baseline (first time point, before training) and after completing each training condition (second time point at 6 weeks, and third time point at 12 weeks). Cognitive composite scores were calculated for participants at each time point.Results: Study completion and protocol adherence demonstrated good feasibility of this brain training protocol in healthy middle-aged adults. Exploratory analyses suggested that brain training was associated with neurocognitive improvements related to executive attention, as well as improvements in mood.Conclusion: Overall, our findings suggest that brain training programs are feasible in middle-aged cohorts. We propose that brain training games may be linked to improvements in executive attention and affect by promoting cognitive self-efficacy in middle-aged adults.

Highlights

Over the past decade, commercially available brain training games have targeted middle-aged and older audiences with implicit and explicit claims of preventing or remediating age-related cognitive decline through ‘‘exercising your brain’’ techniques
We explored the feasibility of using a commercially available brain training program as an intervention tool, as well as report preliminary findings on the impact of brain training on neurocognitive and emotional functioning in middle-aged adults
Participants showed a greater improvement in executive attention and a reduction in depressive symptoms following 18 hours of brain training over a 6-week period relative to an active control condition

Summary

Introduction

Commercially available brain training games have targeted middle-aged and older audiences with implicit and explicit claims of preventing or remediating age-related cognitive decline through ‘‘exercising your brain’’ techniques. These software platforms allege to support the ‘‘use it or lose it’’ hypothesis,[1,2] where engaging in cognitively stimulating activities can attenuate or prevent age-related changes in cognition. In contrast to the well-documented cognitive benefits of action-based videogames in younger cohorts,[3] the impact of brain training games on cognitive aging is less clear This genre of games uses components from traditional psychological measures (e.g., mental arithmetic and pattern recognition) to train underlying cognitive functions associated with the tasks (e.g., working memory and perceptual reasoning, respectively). These games typically use feedback and reinforcement to promote learning, with task difficulty manipulated to facilitate within game skill acquisition—a critical feature for skill transfer.[1]

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Conclusion