Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Also Included In: Seniors / Aging; Neurology / Neuroscience
Article Date: 18 Jan 2012 - 10:00 PST
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A new study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine's February issue, reveals that virtual reality-enhanced exercise called "exergames," which combine physical exercise with computer-simulated environments and interactive videogame features, can achieve a greater cognitive benefit for older adults than traditional exercise alone.
The two-year study wanted to explore how interactive digital gaming can improve the health behaviors and outcomes for people aged 50 years and older.
Leading researcher Cay Anderson-Hanley, PhD, from the Healthy Aging and Neuropsychology Lab and Department of Psychology at the Union College in Schenectady, NY explained: "We found that for older adults, virtual-reality enhanced interactive exercise, or 'cybercycling' two to three times per week for 3 months, yielded greater cognitive benefit, and perhaps added protection against mild cognitive impairment (MCI), than a similar dose of traditional exercise."
Studies have proven that exercise is likely to prevent or delay dementia and improve cognitive functioning in normal aging, yet only 14% of adults between the ages of 65 to 74 years old, and only 7% of over 75 year-olds report to do regular exercise. Exergames are likely to increase exercise by diverting the attention from aversive aspects towards motivating features like competition and three-dimensional scenery, which lead to greater frequency and intensity as well as improved health outcomes.
Researchers recruited 101 participants aged from 58 to 99 years, from independent living facilities with indoor access, to an exercise bike for the Cybercycle Study. From all participants, 79 completed initial evaluations and training. They rode identical recumbent stationary bikes but the experimental bike had a virtual reality display on which cybercycle participants could experience 3-D tours and race against a "ghost rider," a fictional character based on their last best ride. Overall, 63 participants completed the study with an average of three rides weekly. The researchers performed a cognitive assessment to assess executive functions like attention, planning, working memory and problem solving at enrollment, after 1 month (pre-intervention) and after 3 months (post-intervention). They examined blood plasma to measure if a change in brain-derived neurotrophic growth factor (BDNF) suggested possible neuroplasticity, a mechanism of change that potentially connects exercise with cognition.
The researchers discovered that those who rode the cybercycle displayed substantially better executive function, compared with those who rode a traditional stationary bike. They also found that cybercyclists experienced a 23% reduction in progression to MCI compared with traditional exercisers. Co-principal project researcher Paul Arciero, PhD, professor of health and exercise sciences at Skidmore College, declared: "No difference in exercise frequency, intensity, or duration was found between the two groups, indicating that factors other than effort and fitness were responsible for the cognitive benefit."
Dr. Anderson-Hanley remarked: "Navigating a 3D landscape, anticipating turns, and competing with others require additional focus, expanded divided attention, and enhanced decision making. These activities depend in part on executive function, which was significantly affected."
The findings also revealed a substantially larger increase of BDNF in cybercyclists compared with traditional riders, which indicates that interactive/combined mental and physical exercise could potentially lead to cognitive benefits by way of biomarkers associated with to neurotrophic effects.
Dr. Anderson-Hanley states: "Further research will be needed to tease apart the contributions of a variety of factors in the cybercycling condition. Consistency across conditions for goal setting and competition suggests virtual reality imagery and interactive decision-making might be potent factors of the cybercycle." The final interviews with the participants provided the researchers with anecdotal evidence of the value of these unique exergames with participants commenting that they enjoyed the visual stimulation and the challenge of 'beating' fictional characters.
Dr. Anderson-Hanley concludes: "The implication of our study is that older adults who choose exergaming with interactive physical and cognitive exercise over traditional exercise may garner added cognitive benefit, and perhaps prevent decline, all for the same exercise effort."
Written by: Petra Rattue
Copyright: Medical News Today
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18 Jan. 2012.
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