Can training in a real-time strategy video game attenuate cognitive decline in older adults?

Abstract

Declines in various cognitive abilities, particularly executive control functions, are observed in older adults. An important goal of cognitive training is to slow or reverse these age-related declines. However, opinion is divided in the literature regarding whether cognitive training can engender transfer to a variety of cognitive skills in older adults. Yet, recent research indicates that videogame training of young adults may engender broad transfer to skills of visual attention. In the current study, we used a real-time strategy videogame to attempt to train executive functions in older adults, such as working memory, task switching, short-term memory, inhibition, and reasoning. Older adults were either trained in a real-time strategy videogame for 23.5 hours (RON, n=20) or not (CONTROLS, n=20). A battery of cognitive tasks, including tasks of executive control and visuo-spatial skills, were assessed before, during, and after video game training. The trainees improved significantly in the measures of game performance. They also improved significantly more than the controls in a subset of the cognitive tasks, such as task switching, working memory, visual short term memory, and mental rotation. Trends in improvement were also observed, for the video game trainees, in inhibition and reasoning. Individual differences in changes in game performance were correlated with improvements in task-switching. The study has implications for the enhancement of executive control processes of older adults.

The impact of cognitive training and mental stimulation on cognitive and everyday functioning of healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In individual trials we found that mental stimulation groups significantly outperformed "no intervention" controls on four out of eight memory measures (Carlson et al, 2008;Klusmann et al, 2010;Noice and Noice, 2009;Slegers et al, 2009), nine out of 17 measures of executive function (Basak et al, 2008;Bugos et al, 2007;Carlson et al, 2008;Klusmann et al, 2010;Noice and Noice, 2009;Slegers et al, 2009;Tesky et al, 2011), and one out of three composite measures of cognitive function (Slegers et al, 2009;Tesky et al, 2011;Tranter and Koutstaal, 2008). The trials did not include measures of everyday functioning.…”

On the validity and generality of transfer effects in cognitive training research

“…Complex tasks, like action video gaming (e.g., Basak et al, 2008;Green, Sugarman, Medford, Klobusicky, & Bavellier, 2012;Maillot, Perrot, & Hartley, 2012;Sanchez, 2012), origami practice (Jausovec & Jausovec, 2012), painting (Tranter & Koutstaal, 2008), music education (Degé et al, 2011;Moreno et al, 2011), virtual breakfast cooking (Wang, Chang, & Su, 2011), or the participation in volunteer senior services (Carlson et al, 2008) were distinguished from the other tasks (in single and multiple-task trainings) because these activities were not designed to address one well-defined cognitive ability or to draw on one psychological process alone. It is important to note, however, that this distinction is somewhat arbitrary from an ecological perspective because all tasks, if designed for a specific purpose or not, are not process pure and usually draw on multiple cognitive abilities (e.g., Redick et al, 2013).…”

“…For example, Basak et al (2008) examined the effect of playing strategy computer games on executive control and visuospatial attention in older participants. To test for improvements in executive control, operation span, taskswitching performance, n-back speed and accuracy, and inhibition were compared between training and control group.…”

Work Protocol for Cognitive Optimization Intervention Using Computer Applications in Patients with Cognitive Impairment after Stroke

“…Nouchi et al, in a randomized controlled trial conducted to evaluate the beneficial effects of cognitive training in healthy elderly people, used as a control group persons on the waiting list, having a choice between this method and the one that includes the non-contact person group control, as in the case of studies conducted by Levine [19], Basak [20], McDougall [21].…”