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. 2025 Mar 20:17:1520698.
doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1520698. eCollection 2025.

Improv as cognitive activity

Kristin R Krueger  1 , Jeffrey P Winer  2 , Daniel C Lattimore  3 , Todd Beck  1 , Kyle Dennis  1 , Cameron Carswell  4 , Clifton Saper  5 , Mathieu Hainselin  6
Affiliations

Improv as cognitive activity

Kristin R Krueger et al. Front Aging Neurosci. .

Abstract

Background: Engaging in regular cognitive activity has been associated with cognitive function, yet the field of aging research has limited choices of cognitive activity programs to implement in clinical trials. As the field of aging research works to operationalize healthy habits, the potential role of improvisational theater (improv) to improve the lives of older adults has emerged. Given the limitations of existing cognitive training programs and the promise of improv, we sought to establish the feasibility of creating a cognitive training program based on improv exercises.

Methods: We engaged 13 neuropsychologists and trainees in 15 improv exercises and asked them to rate the extent to which each exercise engaged or required one of 20 distinct cognitive abilities or cognitive subdomains. We then examined the mean ratings of the highest and the lowest rated subdomains to provide evidence that each exercise could be mapped onto different cognitive subdomains, thereby providing evidence of concept.

Results: Our results demonstrated that these informed participants deemed the improv exercises as engaging cognitive processes. We found consensus among raters via higher-than-average means for specific abilities across the 15 exercises. Ratings from participants were broadly consistent with the pre-study groupings of the authors.

Discussion: Our study provides the initial steps of establishing construct validity of improv exercises as a meaningful form of cognitive activity. This set of exercises can be examined as a cognitive training program in future clinical trials in order to determine if it has a significant influence on the cognitive function of older adults.

Keywords: aging; attention; cognitive activity; healthy aging; improv theater exercises; memory.

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Conflict of interest statement

DL was employed by Omiyo Consulting, LLC. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Improv exercises and cognitive domain ratings.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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