A 3-month intervention of Dance Dance Revolution improves interference control in elderly females: a preliminary investigation

Abstract

Exercise regimens suitable to the elderly remain under investigated; therefore, this study examined the effects of Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) on cognitive control in elderly females. Twenty-six healthy elderly females leading a sedentary lifestyle were assigned to a DDR, brisk walking, or control group. Participants in the DDR and brisk walking groups engaged in moderate physical exercise three times per week for 3 months, whereas the control group maintained a sedentary lifestyle. Each participant performed a flanker task before and after the intervention. The results revealed that both DDR and brisk walking shortened reaction time, N2 latency, and P3 latency relative to those of the control group. These findings suggest that DDR intervention is as effective as that of brisk walking in improving inhibitory control for elderly people. Therefore, DDR can be used as a viable alternative exercise to enhance cognitive function for the elderly and motivate individuals who are less willing to be active.

Impacts of dance on non-motor symptoms, participation, and quality of life in Parkinson disease and healthy older adults

“…Older adult studies used various dance styles, including salsa [26], Caribbean traditional [27], Turkish folkloristic [28], aerobic [29], ballroom [30], square [31], contemporary [32], creative [33], and video game-based [34] dance, as well as modified dance for seniors [35]. Interventions in older adults were between 8 weeks and eighteen months, 30 minutes to 75 minutes per session, and one to seven days per week.…”

“…For older adult dance interventions, Tai Chi [31, 32], fall prevention training [32], no intervention [26, 28-31, 33-35], social and recreational activities [27], swimming [31], running [31], and brisk walking [34]control groups were used. Establishing the merits of a particular style of dance relative to other forms of exercise has been challenging due to varied intervention parameters and control group comparisons.…”

“…Response accuracy during a flanker task (measures selective attention) was not affected by video game-based dance, but reaction times were shorter in older adults s after video game-based dance as well as brisk walking, compared to no intervention [34]. Cortical event-related potentials were measured, and the N2 (related to stimulus identification) and P3 (related to the speed of stimulus classification) peak latencies improved similarly with video game-based dance as well as brisk walking, compared to no intervention [34].…”

“…Cortical event-related potentials were measured, and the N2 (related to stimulus identification) and P3 (related to the speed of stimulus classification) peak latencies improved similarly with video game-based dance as well as brisk walking, compared to no intervention [34]. There were no differences between groups for changes in amplitude of these peaks [34]. …”

Energy Expenditure and Intensity of Interactive Video Dance Games according to Health Recommendations

“…Pichierri, Murer, de Bruin (2012) observed the improvement of walk parameters among elderly people after a 12-week training program supplemented with IVDGs in comparison to a typical training program without such games. Chuang et al (2015) argue that IDVGs DDR may improve cognitive functions in older women. Smith et al (Smith, Sherrington, Studenski, Schoene, Lord, 2011) express the belief that IDVGs DDR can be a low budget home training method of older people and increase their involvement in the physical effort.…”