Brain Plasticity in Older Adults: Could It Be Better Enhanced by Cognitive Training via an Adaptation of the Virtual Reality Platform FitForAll or via a Commercial Video Game?

2018 ◽  
pp. 728-742
Author(s):  
Vasiliki Bapka ◽  
Irene Bika ◽  
Charalampos Kavouras ◽  
Theodore Savvidis ◽  
Evdokimos Konstantinidis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Brain Plasticity

scholarly journals Virtual reality video game improves high-fidelity memory in older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Wais ◽  
Melissa Arioli ◽  
Roger Anguera-Singla ◽  
Adam Gazzaley
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Cognitive Intervention ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Placebo Control ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
High Fidelity

AbstractTherapeutic interventions have not yet been shown to demonstrate restorative effects for declining long-term memory (LTM) that affects many healthy older adults. We developed a virtual reality (VR) spatial wayfinding game (Labyrinth-VR) as a cognitive intervention with the hypothesis that it could improve detailed, high-fidelity LTM capability. Spatial navigation tasks have been used as a means to achieve environmental enrichment via exposure to and learning about novel and complex information. Engagement has been shown to enhance learning and has been linked to the vitality of the LTM system in the brain. In the current study, 48 older adults (mean age 68.7 ± 6.4 years) with average cognitive abilities for their age were randomly assigned to 12 h of computer game play over four weeks in either the Labyrinth-VR or placebo control game arms. Promptly before and after each participant’s treatment regimen, high-fidelity LTM outcome measures were tested to assess mnemonic discrimination and other memory measures. The results showed a post-treatment gain in high-fidelity LTM capability for the Labyrinth-VR arm, relative to placebo, which reached the levels attained by younger adults in another experiment. This novel finding demonstrates generalization of benefits from the VR wayfinding game to important, and untrained, LTM capabilities. These cognitive results are discussed in the light of relevant research for hippocampal-dependent memory functions.

Effects of virtual reality-based spatial cognitive training on hippocampal function of older adults with mild cognitive impairment

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Jin-Hyuck Park
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Spatial Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Cognitive Intervention ◽  
Hippocampal Function

ABSTRACT Background: To date, there is a controversy on effects of cognitive intervention to maintain or improve hippocampal function for older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Objective: The main objective of this study was to exam effects of virtual reality-based spatial cognitive training (VR-SCT) using VR on hippocampal function of older adults with MCI. Method: Fifty-six older adults with MCI were randomly allocated to the experimental group (EG) that received the VR-SCT or the waitlist control group (CG) for a total of 24 sessions. To investigate effects of the VR-SCT on spatial cognition and episodic memory, the Weschsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised Block Design Test (WAIS-BDT) and the Seoul Verbal Learning Test (SVLT) were used. Results: During the sessions, the training performances gradually increased (p < .001). After the intervention, the EG showed significant greater improvements in the WAIS-BDT (p < .001, η2 = .667) and recall of the SVLT (p < .05, η2 =.094) compared to the CG but in recognition of the SVLT (p > .05, η2 =.001). Conclusion: These results suggest that the VR-SCT might be clinically beneficial to enhance spatial cognition and episodic memory of older adults with MCI.

scholarly journals IS COMBINED TRAINING MORE EFFECTIVE THAN SINGLE-DOMAIN TRAINING: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL WITH OLDER ADULTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S721-S721
Author(s):  
Soledad Ballesteros ◽  
Jennifer Rieker ◽  
josé M Reales ◽  
julia Mayas ◽  
María Pilar Jiménez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Physical Training ◽  
Cognitive Intervention ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Activity

Abstract Previous research suggests that both cognitive training and physical exercise help to maintain brain health and cognitive functions that decline with age. The main objectives of this four-arms RCT are (1) to investigate the synergetic effects of a group-based multidomain training program that combines cognitive video-game training with physical exercise, in comparison to those produced by cognitive training combined with physical control activity, physical training combined with cognitive control activity, or a combination of both control activities; (2) to investigate in a memory-based task switching task whether event Related Potential (ERP) latencies of the P2 component are shorter, and N2 and P3b components are enhanced after training; and (3) to find out whether possible enhancements persist after a 3-month period without training. One hundred and twenty participants will be randomly assigned to one of the four combinations of cognitive training and physical exercise. The cognitive component will be either video-game training (cognitive intervention, CI) or video games not specifically designed to train cognition (cognitive control, CC). The physical exercise component will either emphasize endurance, strength, and music-movement coordination (exercise intervention, EI) or stretching, toning and relaxation (exercise control, EC). This RCT will investigate the short and long-term effects of combined multi-domain training compared to cognitive training and physical training alone, on executive control and memory functions of healthy older adults, in comparison with the performance of an active control group. This trial is an ongoing project started in 2018. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov ID: NCT03823183; https://register.clinicaltrials.gov/

scholarly journals The Temporal Dynamics of Brain Plasticity in Aging

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1857-1865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann-Marie Glasø de Lange ◽  
Anne Cecilie Sjøli Bråthen ◽  
Darius A Rohani ◽  
Anders M Fjell ◽  
Kristine B Walhovd
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Initial Training ◽  
Continuous Training ◽  
Age Related ◽  
General Decline ◽  
Multiple Intervention

Abstract Cognitive training has been suggested as a possible remediation of decline in brain structure with older age. However, it is unknown whether training effects are transient or enduring, as no studies have examined training-induced plasticity relative to decline in older adults across extended periods with multiple intervention phases. We investigated the temporal dynamics of brain plasticity across periods on and off memory training, hypothesizing that (1) a decline in white matter (WM) microstructure would be observed across the duration of the study and (2) that periods of memory training would moderate the WM microstructural decline. In total, 107 older adults followed a 40-week program, including 2 training periods separated by periods with no intervention. The general decline in WM microstructure observed across the duration of the study was moderated following the training periods, demonstrating that cognitive training may mitigate age-related brain deterioration. The training-related improvements were estimated to subside over time, indicating that continuous training may be a premise for the enduring attenuation of neural decline. Memory improvements were largely maintained after the initial training period, and may thus not rely on continuous training to the same degree as WM microstructure.

scholarly journals Effects of Semi-Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Cognitive Training Combined with Locomotor Activity on Cognitive Function and Gait Ability in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 814
Author(s):  
Na-Kyoung Hwang ◽  
Jong-Bae Choi ◽  
Dae-Kil Choi ◽  
Jae-Min Park ◽  
Chang-Wan Hong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Locomotor Activity ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Immersive Virtual Reality ◽  
Community Dwelling Older Adults ◽  
Experimental Group

This study aimed to investigate the effects of semi-immersive virtual reality-based cognitive training (VRCT) combined with locomotor activity on cognitive function, balance, and gait ability in older adults. Eighteen community-dwelling older adults participated in this study. Subjects who met the selection criteria were assigned to an experimental group (n = 9) and a control group (n = 9). The experimental group received VRCT combined with locomotor activity for 30 min a day, three times a week, for 6 weeks. The control group received tabletop activity-based cognitive training for the same amount of time. Before and after the training, the Korean Mini-Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Trail Making Test (TMT; A and B), and Digit Span Test (DST; forward and backward) were used to evaluate cognitive function; and the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test and 10-m Walking Test (10MWT) were used to evaluate the improvement in the balance and gait ability parameters. After the intervention, the experimental group showed a significantly greater improvement in the TMT-A (p = 0.045) and DST-backward (p = 0.012) scores compared with the control group. Regarding the gait ability variable, the experimental group showed a significant improvement in the 10MWT test (p = 0.001). This study confirmed that semi-immersive VRCT combined with locomotor activity is useful for improving cognitive function and gait ability in older adults. Therefore, VRCT combined with locomotor activity can be used as a simultaneous intervention for cognitive rehabilitation and functional capacity improvement in older adults.

Cognitive Plasticity Induced in Older Adults by Cognitive Training, Physical Exercise, and Combined Interventions

2021 ◽  
pp. 340-367
Author(s):  
Soledad Ballesteros
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Compensatory Mechanisms ◽  
Brain Reorganization

Verbal abilities, general knowledge, and implicit memory are maintained with age, but processing speed, working memory, and episodic memory that depend on the prefrontal cortex and the medial temporal lobe, including the hippocampus, are not. The failure of these abilities compromises independent living and a prolonged working life. However, functional brain reorganization and compensatory mechanisms allow older adults to maintain successful task performance. Physical exercise and cognitive training have potential for preventing cognitive decline. The question is whether the combination of both trainings produces synergetic effects. This chapter summarizes the study protocol of an ongoing multidomain versus single-domain randomized controlled trial aimed at investigating the short- and long-term effects of combining cognitive video game training with physical exercise, compared to cognitive training and physical training alone, on executive control and memory in older adults, two abilities that decline with aging, in comparison with the performance of an active-control group.

Neurorehabilitation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Belén Rubio Ballester
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Burden Of Disease ◽  
Brain Plasticity ◽  
Potential Applications ◽  
Interface Devices ◽  
Robotic Technologies

This chapter considers the ability of the damaged brain to reorganize following trauma and how this can be facilitated through interaction with virtual reality or robotic technologies. Stroke represents one of the main causes of adult disability and will be one of the main contributors to the burden of disease in by 2030. In this chapter we first review the main neuroscientific principles of recovery. Second, we explore the some of the latest technological approaches for neurorehabilitation, such as assistive exoskeletons and virtual reality systems. We describe a new virtual reality gaming system (RGS) that combines training scenarios with dedicated interface devices to optimize motor and cognitive training. RGS builds on theories of brain plasticity, thus we show how a living machines perspective can be used to create practical and useful systems that address a significant societal need. Finally, we comment on the broader advantages and potential applications of VR to maximize recovery.

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