Games and Other Training Interventions to Improve Cognition in Healthy Older Adults

2016 ◽  
pp. 192-205
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Zelinski
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Aerobic Exercise ◽  
Functional Assessment ◽  
Functional Ability ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
The Third

Many of the cognitive declines in healthy aging are moderated by experience, suggesting that interventions may be beneficial. Goals for aging outcomes include improving performance on untrained tasks, remediating observed cognitive declines, and ensuring preservation of functional ability. This selective review evaluates current progress towards these goals. Most research focuses on untrained tasks. Interventions associated with this outcome include games and exercises practicing specific cognitive skills, as well as aerobic exercise, and modestly benefit a relatively narrow range of cognitive tasks. Few studies have directly tested improvements in tasks on which individuals have been shown to experience longitudinal decline, so this goal has not been realized, though remediation can be examined rather easily. Little work has been done to develop psychometrically strong functional outcomes that could be used to test preservation of independence in everyday activities. Virtual reality approaches to functional assessment show promise for achieving the third goal.

scholarly journals How Interventions Might Improve Cognition in Healthy Older Adults

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 72-82
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Zelinski
Keyword(s):  
Functional Assessment ◽  
Functional Ability ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Functional Outcomes ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Narrow Range ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
The Third ◽  
Everyday Activities

Many of the cognitive declines in healthy aging are moderated by experience, suggesting that interventions may be beneficial. Goals for aging outcomes include improving performance on untrained tasks, remediating observed cognitive declines, and ensuring preservation of functional ability. This selective review evaluates current progress towards these goals. Most research focuses on untrained tasks. Interventions associated with this outcome include games and exercises practicing specific cognitive skills, as well as aerobic exercise, and modestly benefit a relatively narrow range of cognitive tasks. Few studies have directly tested improvements in tasks on which individuals have been shown to experience longitudinal decline, so this goal has not been realized, though remediation can be examined rather easily. Little work has been done to develop psychometrically strong functional outcomes that could be used to test preservation of independence in everyday activities. Virtual reality approaches to functional assessment show promise for achieving the third goal.

scholarly journals Virtual Reality Balance Games Provide Little Muscular Challenge to Prevent Muscle Weakness in Healthy Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aijse W. de Vries ◽  
Jente Willaert ◽  
Ilse Jonkers ◽  
Jaap H. van Dieën ◽  
Sabine M.P. Verschueren
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Muscle Weakness ◽  
Healthy Older Adults

A Meta-analysis of Cognitive Training on Memory Functioning in Normal Elderly Adults

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S609-S609 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Piryaei ◽  
M. Khademi Ashkzari
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Memory Training ◽  
Everyday Functioning ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Memory Functioning ◽  
Study Heterogeneity ◽  
Competing Interest

IntroductionThe major issues in cognitive literature related to memory and aging concentrate on the different methodological issues in research examining the effectiveness of memory training programs in improving memory performance of older adults along with the clinical implications of this kind of research.ObjectivesThe review will address how researchers differ within their collection of participants, the various aspects of memory intervention programs by a systematic review on recent researches.AimsThe present study aims to review the cognitive literature related to memory and aging through a meta-analysis in recent years.MethodMeta-analysis was conducted of researches on memory training interventions for cognitively normal/healthy older adults published in 1995–2014. Computerized databases (e.g PsychInfo) were searched using combinations of these key words in English: memory, mnemonic, rehabilitation, older adult, aging, elderly and impairment. All participants must be at least 55 years old at the time of training/intervention. Due to the fact and Studies must have used a non-pharmacological approach toward memory or memory problems. Between-study heterogeneity was quantified using χ2 and I2 statistics. All analyses were performed utilizing the CMA2.ResultsEffect sizes with 95% confidence intervals for each study indicated that the overall pre-post training gain was 0.37 SD (95% CI: 0.18, 0.47) and the mean retest effect among control groups was 0.11 SD (95% CI: −0.11, 0.16) and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).ConclusionThe key challenge of memory training studies is that they often don’t train abilities that generalize to everyday functioning. These results have numerous clinical and practical implications.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS OF COGNITIVE TRAINING INTERVENTIONS IN OLDER ADULTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S657-S657
Author(s):  
Ayse Malatyali ◽  
Carol Reive ◽  
Christine Williams
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Functioning ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Attention And Memory ◽  
Significant Activity ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Training Interventions ◽  
Speed Training

Abstract There has been a growing interest in cognitive training interventions for their potential effect of maintaining and promoting cognitive functioning in older adults. Rapid and significant changes in technology has had a significant impact on the design and assessment methods of cognitive training interventions. Investigating changes in brain networks and blood markers are relatively new approaches and sparsely examined in the literature. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to analyze the effect of cognitive training interventions on brain networks, blood markers and associated cognitive performance of healthy older adults. We conducted a comprehensive literature search on four databases, following PRISMA guidelines. Initially, 2426 citations were retrieved, and 251 full-text publications were evaluated in detail for eligibility. Fourteen randomized control trials were included in this review. Functional imaging analysis of brain networks showed significant activity changes primarily in the Default Mode Network. These changes were associated with improvement in memory, learning, attention, and affective performances. Also, there were activity changes in the Central Executive Network that were associated with improvement in reasoning, attentional control, innovative thinking, and processing speed. Training-induced changes have been observed in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels and the markers of antioxidative and anti-inflammatory regulatory mechanisms. Improvement in attention and memory performances were significantly related to these changes. Limitations of the studies included methodological inconsistencies, sampling issues, and the lack of long-term follow up assessment. Cognitive training appears to promote improvement and maintenance of cognitive functioning in healthy older adults.

scholarly journals A-183 A Preliminary Study of Comfort with Computers and Analog Tasks in Relation to Older Adults’ Performance in Virtual Reality

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 978-978
Author(s):  
Williams L ◽  
Coldiron A ◽  
Sandlin A ◽  
Flores E ◽  
Flair J ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Delayed Recall ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Meal Preparation ◽  
Immediate Recall ◽  
Procedural Task ◽  
Analog Tasks

Abstract Objective Neuropsychologists are using virtual reality to simulate everyday activities in order to increase ecological validity in neuropsychological assessments (Kane & Parsons, 2017). However, relatively little is known about the extent to which comfort with computers and analog tasks influences older adults’ performance on virtual reality-based tasks. Methods Healthy older adults (N = 42) rated how comfortable they are with computers and cooking meals in daily life and completed the Virtual Kitchen Protocol, a measure of procedural learning and memory for meal preparation tasks. Results Both higher comfort with cooking meals in a real kitchen and higher comfort with computers were associated with better learning, immediate recall, and delayed recall of the procedural task in virtual reality. However, comfort with computers did not explain a significant amount of variance in performance beyond comfort cooking in a real kitchen. Conclusion While both comfort with computers and analog versions of tasks may relate to older adults’ learning and memory in virtual reality, performance may be primarily related to analog abilities.

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