Effects of Park Golf on Working Memory and Prefrontal Cortex Activation in Older Adults

Does Park Golf Affect Working Memory?: An fNIRS-Based Randomized Controlled Trial in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

This study investigates whether a park golf program can improve working memory and prefrontal cortex activity in community-dwelling older adults. A total of 36 older adults (aged 65-85) were randomly assigned to either a park golf group or a health education group. The park golf group participated in a supervised park golf program (2 sessions per week for 4 weeks, 60 minutes per session), while the health education group attended lectures on healthy aging topics such as nutrition and fall prevention on the same schedule. Before and after the intervention, participants completed cognitive and physical assessments, including the Korean Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K), the Timed Up and Go test, and a spatial working memory task (N-back) performed while brain activity in the prefrontal cortex was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a non-invasive, radiation-free imaging method. The findings may help establish evidence for community-based physical activity programs, such as park golf, as a strategy to support cognitive health in older adults.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Cognitive Function; Working Memory
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Park Golf Program; Behavioral: Health Education Program

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 36
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Eun-Sang Lee, PhD; Phone Number: +82 62-958-7525; Email: eslee@ghu.ac.kr

Study Locations

• South Korea
  • Gwangju
    • Gwangju, Gwangju, South Korea, 61161
      • Recruiting
      • Gwangju Health University, Buk-gu Campus, Smart Care Village
      • Contact: Mincheol Lee; Phone Number: +82-10-4122-2936; Email: minchol12@naver.com

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Community-dwelling older adults aged 65 to 85 years, living independently (excluding those residing in nursing facilities or hospitalized)
• Korean version of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K) score of 23 or higher (normal cognitive function range)
• Able to walk independently and possess the basic functional capacity required to participate in park golf
• No experience with park golf, or no regular participation in park golf within the past 6 months
• Voluntary written informed consent to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• History of severe neurological disease (e.g., Parkinson's disease, stroke, dementia) or psychiatric disease (e.g., major depressive disorder, schizophrenia)
• Scalp disease, skull abnormality, or history of craniotomy that could affect fNIRS measurement
• Currently taking medications affecting cognitive function (e.g., anticholinergics, antipsychotics)
• Regular participation in high-intensity exercise programs 3 or more times per week
• Physician-prescribed restriction on physical activity
• Severe visual or auditory impairment that would make assessment difficult, even with correction
• Left-handedness (excluded to control for hemispheric dominance in fNIRS measurement)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Park Golf Group (PGG); Participants attended supervised park golf sessions twice weekly for 4 weeks (8 sessions total, 60 minutes per session), including warm-up (10 min), park golf skills training and practice (40 min), and cool-down (10 min), held at a community park.	Behavioral: Park Golf Program; A structured, supervised park golf program consisting of 8 sessions over 4 weeks (2 sessions/week, 60 minutes/session). Each session included a 10-minute warm-up, 40 minutes of park golf technique instruction and practice, and a 10-minute cool-down, conducted at an outdoor community park under the supervision of trained instructors.
Active Comparator: Health Education Group (HEG); Participants attended health education lectures on senior health management, nutrition, fall prevention, and chronic disease management, twice weekly for 4 weeks (8 sessions total, 60 minutes per session).	Behavioral: Health Education Program; A structured health education program consisting of 8 sessions over 4 weeks (2 sessions per week, 60 minutes per session), covering topics such as senior health management, nutrition, fall prevention, and chronic disease management, conducted at a community facility.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Prefrontal Cortex Activation (Beta-value of HbO Concentration)	Change in oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) concentration in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), measured as a beta-value derived from general linear model (GLM) analysis during the spatial N-back task, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).	Change from baseline to 4 weeks (post-intervention)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Working Memory Performance (Spatial N-back Task)	Reaction time and accuracy on the 2-back condition of a spatial N-back task, assessing spatial working memory. Task administered using E-Prime 3.0 software with 1-back and 2-back conditions presented in alternating blocks.	Change from baseline to 4 weeks (post-intervention)
Dynamic Balance (Timed Up and Go Test)	Time (in seconds) taken to rise from a chair, walk 3 meters, turn around, and return to sitting, assessing dynamic balance and functional mobility.	Change from baseline to 4 weeks (post-intervention)
Cognitive-Motor Dual-Task Performance (TUG with Naming Animals)	Performance on the TUG test while simultaneously naming as many animals as possible, assessing integrated cognitive-motor function. Measures include dual-task time, dual-task cost, number of animals named, and animals named per 10 seconds.	Change from baseline to 4 weeks (post-intervention)
Global Cognitive Function (Korean Montreal Cognitive Assessment)	Overall cognitive function assessed using MoCA-K, covering visuospatial/executive function, naming, attention, language, abstraction, delayed recall, and orientation. Total score range 0-30.	Change from baseline to 4 weeks (post-intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Gwangju Health University
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Eun-Sang Lee, PhD, Gwangju Health University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): September 10, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 15, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 2, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 2, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): September 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 8, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 2, 2026
• Last Verified: September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Older Adults; Randomized Controlled Trial; fNIRS; Prefrontal Cortex; Working Memory; Community-Dwelling Older Adults; Park Golf; N-back Task
• Other Study ID Numbers: P01-202607-01-010

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Data will not be shared beyond this study, in accordance with the informed consent obtained from participants, which specified that collected data would be used solely for this study without secondary use or third-party disclosure.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No