Cognitive and Psychosocial Outcomes of Self-Guided Executive Function Training and Low-Intensity Aerobic Exercise in Healthy Older Adults

Lixia Yang, Sara N Gallant, Leanne Karyn Wilkins, Ben Dyson, Lixia Yang, Sara N Gallant, Leanne Karyn Wilkins, Ben Dyson

Abstract

Objectives: Prior work has demonstrated that executive function training or physical exercise can improve older adults' cognition. The current study takes an exploratory approach to compare the feasibility and efficacy of online executive function training and low-intensity aerobic exercise for improving cognitive and psychosocial functioning in healthy older adults.

Method: Following a standard pretest-training-posttest protocol, 40 older adults (aged 65 and above) were randomly assigned to an executive function or a physical training group. A battery of cognitive and psychosocial outcome measures were administered before and after training. During the 10 weeks of self-guided training at home (25-30 min/day, 4 days/week), the executive function training group practiced a set of adaptive online executive function tasks designed by Lumos Labs, whereas the physical training group completed an adaptive Digital Video Disc (DVD)-based low-intensity aerobic exercise program.

Results: Training transfer effects were limited. Relative to low-intensity aerobic exercise, executive function training yielded cognitive improvement on the 64-card Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST-64), a general executive function measure. Depression and stress levels dropped following both training programs, but this could be driven by decreased stress or excitement in performing the tasks over time.

Discussion: The results revealed limited cognitive benefits of the online executive function training program, specifically to a near transfer test of general executive control. Importantly, the current study supports the feasibility of home-based self-guided executive function and low-intensity physical training with healthy older adults.

Keywords: Lumosity; aerobic exercise; aging; executive function training; executive functions; psychosocial functions.

Copyright © 2020 Yang, Gallant, Wilkins and Dyson.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The proportional training gain scores in the 64-card Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST-64). Positive values mean the proportional score increases at posttest relative to pretest, with higher values meaning larger gains. Error bars refer to the standard errors of the means. Trials (first category) = trials to complete the first category.

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