Older Adults With MCI Experience Greater Cognitive Health Benefits After Exergaming, Shows Study

A study published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience found older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) exhibited significant improvement with certain thinking and memory skills after exergaming, reports News-Medical . The researchers first enrolled more than 100 seniors for the study, and over six months, 14 persisted with regular exergaming. Their average age was 78, and the initial seven-person group was assigned to pedal along a scenic virtual reality bike path several times weekly. The second group had to pedal while playing a video game that included chasing dragons and collecting coins. The special bikes were installed at hospitals, community centers, and independent living communities. The results were compared against data collected from a cohort of eight seniors who played video games on a laptop but did not pedal, and a cohort from earlier research who only rode a traditional stationary bike with no gaming component. Participants in both the group that pedaled along a virtual path and those that chased dragons and collected coins had significantly better executive function. "The goal is to explore even more effective ways to prevent or ameliorate cognitive decline in older adults by tailoring accessibility and level of mental engagement in interactive cognitive and physical exercise," says Union College Professor Cay Anderson-Hanley. "The results suggest that the best outcome for brain health may result when we do both: move it and use it."