Alexandra Perrot

Effects of interactive physical-activity video-game training on physical and cognitive function in older adults

The purpose of the present study was to assess the potential of exergame training based on physically simulated sport play as a mode of physical activity that could have cognitive benefits for older adults. If exergame play has the cognitive benefits of conventional physical activity and also has the intrinsic attractiveness of video games, then it might be a very effective way to induce desirable lifestyle changes in older adults. To examine this issue, the authors developed an active video game training program using a pretest-training-posttest design comparing an experimental group (24 × 1 hr of training) with a control group without treatment. Participants completed a battery of neuropsychological tests, assessing executive control, visuospatial functions, and processing speed, to measure the cognitive impact of the program. They were also given a battery of functional fitness tests to measure the physical impact of the program. The trainees improved significantly in measures of game performance. They also improved significantly more than the control participants in measures of physical function and cognitive measures of executive control and processing speed, but not on visuospatial measures. It was encouraging to observe that, engagement in physically simulated sport games yielded benefits to cognitive and physical skills that are directly involved in functional abilities older adults need in everyday living (e.g., Hultsch, Hertzog, Small, & Dixon, 1999).

ROLE OF AGE IN RELATION BETWEEN TWO KINDS OF ABILITIES AND PERFORMANCE IN ACQUISITION OF NEW MOTOR SKILL

Better understanding of age-related differences in skilled performance was the focus of analyses of cognitive-performance scores-relationships in acquisition of a new motor skill. 31 younger adults and 33 older adults were tested on both a cognitive and a psychomotor test. Then, they were asked to learn a juggling task over 12 sessions of 20 min. Analysis indicated age-related differences in the rate of learning. Acquisition by the younger adult group was significantly faster than that by the older adult group. This difference was also reflected in the relationship of cognition and performance for the two age groups. Motor execution for the older adults seemed to require more psychomotor ability, especially at the end of the learning sessions, and was dependent on cognitive control. This trend is consistent with the perspective that cognitive predictors of performance are related to age.

The Braking Force in Walking: Age-Related Differences and Improvement in Older Adults With Exergame Training

The purposes of this present research were, in the first study, to determine whether age impacts a measure of postural control (the braking force in walking) and, in a second study, to determine whether exergame training in physically-simulated sport activity would show transfer, increasing the braking force in walking and also improving balance assessed by clinical measures, functional fitness, and health-related quality of life in older adults. For the second study, the authors developed an active video game training program (using the Wii system) with a pretest-training-posttest design comparing an experimental group (24 1-hr sessions of training) with a control group. Participants completed a battery comprising balance (braking force in short and normal step conditions), functional fitness (Senior Fitness Test), and health-related quality of life (SF-36). Results show that 12 weeks of video game-based exercise program training improved the braking force in the normal step condition, along with the functional fitness of lower limb strength, cardiovascular endurance, and motor agility, as measured by the Senior Fitness Test. Only the global mental dimension of the SF-36 was sensitive to exergame practice. Exergames appear to be an effective way to train postural control in older adults. Because of the multimodal nature of the activity, exergames provide an effective tool for remediation of age-related problems.

Physical Activity as a Moderator of the Relationship between Aging and Inductive Reasoning

A relatively universal observation in aging studies is that cognitive functions inevitably decline across the adult life span (e.g., Hasher & Zacks, 1988). More specifically, executive functions decline substantially with age (e.g., West, 1996), as do the frontal and prefrontal brain regions that support them (Raz, 2000). Indeed, these regions are subject to important neurological modifications with advancing age (Hall, Smith, & Keele, 2001). However, growing evidence indicates that factors such as education, lifestyle, and physical activity may be implicated in reducing age-related cognitive declines (e.g., Kramer, Bherer, Colcombe, Dong, & Greenough, 2004). The benefits of physical activity have been examined in many cross sectional studies (Etnier et al., 1997) and confirmed by studies involving physical training interventions (e.g., Colcombe & Kramer, 2003; Kramer et al., 1999). In both types of studies, physical activity is related to increased cognitive performance, particularly in executive functioning. These results suggest that processes that are susceptible to age-related changes appear to be sensitive to physical activity (Stones & Kozma, 1988), meaning physical activity could act as a moderator of age-related deficits on executive functioning by diminishing the impact of aging. The influences of physical activity seem to be more beneficial for older adults than for younger adults (e.g., Bunce, 2001; Bunce, Barrowclough, & Morris, 1996; Shay & Roth, 1992; Spirduso & Clifford, 1978). However, one of the major limitations of these studies is that the tasks predominantly focus on attention control and reaction time, which typically require a speed component. Researchers have neglected inductive reasoning, a superior executive function (e.g., Blaskewicz Boron, Turiano, Willis, & Schaie, 2007) important for everyday functioning (e.g., Allaire & Marsiske, 1999), and sensitive to age-related deficits (e.g., Blaskewicz Boron et al., 2007). Inductive reasoning is defined as the ability to discover the characteristics underlying a specific problem or to apply a previously learned rule to the problem (Carroll, 1993). Few studies have investigated the relationship between physical activity and this superior executive function. In a cross-sectional study, Clarkson-Smith and Hartley (1989) examined the association between physical activity and inductive reasoning in older adults. The authors administered three inductive reasoning tests (i.e., common-word analogies, Raven’s advanced progressive matrices, and letter series completion items) to highand low-fit participants, classified according to interviews on the amount of their physical activity during the past year. Results indicated that high-fit participants obtained significantly higher performance scores on inductive reasoning measures. However, without comparison to a young adult control group, the authors could not test for the moderator relationship between physical activity and inductive reasoning in older adults. Only one study, by Etnier and Landers (1997), investigated the influence of fitness on a fluid intelligence test similar to an inductive reasoning test (i.e., the Culture Fair Intelligence Test) in young and old participants. Although they reported a positive influence of fitness only in older participants, a precise understanding of the relationship between physiPhysical Activity as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Aging and Inductive Reasoning

Effets de la pratique des jeux vidéo sur le vieillissement cognitif

L’avancee en âge s’accompagne de nombreux declins cognitifs, mais reste un phenomene tres heterogene. En effet, plusieurs facteurs extrinseques semblent moduler l’impact du vieillissement sur la cognition. Recemment, une serie d’etudes a mis en evidence que la pratique des jeux video pouvait engendrer de nombreux benefices en faveur du maintien de la vitalite cognitive des seniors. Cette revue de litterature vise donc a etablir un etat des lieux precis de la relation entre les differentes natures de jeux video et le vieillissement cognitif, a partir des jeux video sedentaires (i.e., classiques vs. entrainement cerebral) et des jeux video actifs (i.e., exergames). Les ameliorations les plus probantes semblent etre apportees par l’intermediaire des exergames qui combinent a la fois la stimulation intellectuelle et l’exercice physique. Cet article cherche egalement a definir les determinants des programmes d’entrainement pouvant etre responsables des ameliorations observees.Advancing age is associated with cognitive decline, which, however, remains a very heterogeneous phenomenon. Indeed, several extrinsic factors seem to modulate the effect of aging on cognition. Recently, several studies have provided evidence that the practice of video games could engender many benefits by favoring the maintenance of cognitive vitality in the elderly. This review of the literature aims to establish a precise inventory of the relations between the various types of video games and cognitive aging, including both sedentary video games (i.e., classics as well as brain training) and active video games (i.e., exergames). The largest benefits seem to be provided by exergames which combine game play with significant physical exercise. This article also tries to define the determinants of the training programs which could be responsible for the observed improvements.

Preserved Spatial Memory for Reaching to Remembered Three-Dimensional Targets in Aging

Background/Study Context: Compared with the large literature on the impact of aging on spatial memory span, far fewer studies have examined the influence of aging on spatial memory processes required to reach a remembered target. This study assessed the ability of seniors to accurately reach to three-dimensional (3D) memorized targets in four conditions in which the memory delay and the attentional demands varied. Methods: The accuracy and variability of reaching movements (3D absolute, 3D variable, and spatial component errors) were analyzed to evaluate the performance of 12 young adults aged 20 to 30 and 12 older adults aged 62 to 69 in the different delay conditions (short passive delay, long passive delay, long cognitive delay, and long spatial delay). Variance analyses were applied on each error measure as well as on kinematic features of the movements (movement time, deceleration time, and peak velocity). Results: Results revealed that older participants were as capable as their younger counterpart to maintain target location in memory regardless of task complexity. Conclusion: Although memory deficits have been found in older adults in several previous studies, the current results support the idea that healthy aging does not produce a breakdown in all memory tasks. Hence, a specific spatial memory channel seems to remain unaffected in normal aging.

Protective Role of Recent and Past Long-Term Physical Activity on Age-Related Cognitive Decline: The Moderating Effect of Sex

This study aimed to investigate if the impact of both recent and long-term physical activity on age-related cognitive decline would be modified by sex. One-hundred thirty-five men (N = 67) and women (N = 68) aged 18 to 80 years completed the Modifiable Activity Questionnaire and the Historical Leisure Activity Questionnaire. A composite score of cognitive functions was computed from five experimental tasks. Hierarchical regression analyses performed to test the moderating effect of recent physical activity on age-cognition relationship had not revealed significant result regardless of sex. Conversely, past long-term physical activity was found to slow down the age-related cognitive decline among women (β = 0.22, p = .03), but not men. The findings support a lifecourse approach in identifying determinants of cognitive aging and the importance of taking into account the moderating role of sex. This article presented potential explanations for these moderators and future avenues to explore.