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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2008 Dec;23(4):765-77.
doi: 10.1037/a0013494.

Can training in a real-time strategy video game attenuate cognitive decline in older adults?

Chandramallika Basak  1 , Walter R Boot, Michelle W Voss, Arthur F Kramer
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Can training in a real-time strategy video game attenuate cognitive decline in older adults?

Chandramallika Basak et al. Psychol Aging. 2008 Dec.

Abstract

Declines in various cognitive abilities, particularly executive control functions, are observed in older adults. An important goal of cognitive training is to slow or reverse these age-related declines. However, opinion is divided in the literature regarding whether cognitive training can engender transfer to a variety of cognitive skills in older adults. In the current study, the authors trained older adults in a real-time strategy video game for 23.5 hr in an effort to improve their executive functions. A battery of cognitive tasks, including tasks of executive control and visuospatial skills, were assessed before, during, and after video-game training. The trainees improved significantly in the measures of game performance. They also improved significantly more than the control participants in executive control functions, such as task switching, working memory, visual short-term memory, and reasoning. Individual differences in changes in game performance were correlated with improvements in task switching. The study has implications for the enhancement of executive control processes of older adults.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Average task switch cost in the task switching paradigm (Figure 1a) and focus switch cost in the N-back task (Figure 1b) as a function of testing sessions for the two groups, Error bars represent plus and minus 1 SE.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Improvement in the accuracy detection from Session 1 to Session 2 and Session 1 to Session 3 in the VSTM task for both set-sizes (2 and 4) and both groups. Error bars represent plus and minus 1 SE.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Accuracy in the Raven's Advanced Matrices subtests for the two groups as a function of testing sessions. Error bars represent plus and minus 1 SE.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Stop reaction time in the stopping task for the two groups as a function of testing sessions. Error bars represent plus and minus 1 SE.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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