Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults

By Joaquin A. Anguera, J. Boccanfuso, Jean L. Rintoul, O. Al-Hashimi, F. Faraji, J. Janowich, E. Kong, Y. Larraburo, Camarin E. Rolle, Eric R. Johnston and 1 more. Nature, 2013

1,568 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Cognitive control is defined by a set of neural processes that allow us to interact with our complex environment in a goal-directed manner. Humans regularly challenge these control processes when attempting to simultaneously accomplish multiple goals (multitasking), generating interference as the result of fundamental information processing limitations. It is clear that multitasking behaviour has become ubiquitous in today’s technologically dense world, and substantial evidence has accrued regarding multitasking difficulties and cognitive control deficits in our ageing population. Here we show that multitasking performance, as assessed with a custom-designed three-dimensional video game (NeuroRacer), exhibits a linear age-related decline from 20 to 79 years of age. By playing an adaptive version of NeuroRacer in multitasking training mode, older adults (60 to 85 years old) reduced multitasking costs compared to both an active control group and a no-contact control group, attaining levels beyond those achieved by untrained 20-year-old participants, with gains persisting for 6 months. Furthermore, age-related deficits in neural signatures of cognitive control, as measured with electroencephalography, were remediated by multitasking training (enhanced midline frontal theta power and frontal–posterior theta coherence). Critically, this training resulted in performance benefits that extended to untrained cognitive control abilities (enhanced sustained attention and working memory), with an increase in midline frontal theta power predicting the training-induced boost in sustained attention and preservation of multitasking improvement 6 months later. These findings highlight the robust plasticity of the prefrontal cognitive control system in the ageing brain, and provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, of how a custom-designed video game can be used to assess cognitive abilities across the lifespan, evaluate underlying neural mechanisms, and serve as a powerful tool for cognitive enhancement.

Subfields: Cognitive Neuroscience, Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/f66663587ee12117956b23fcd1716c5e37c506fd

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Citations in the corpus

Sedentary behavior and health outcomes among older adults: a systematic review (2014, background): “illustrate this point, some studies have shown that video game and computer use, even though classified as sedentary by energy expenditure criteria, may reduce the risk of mental health disorders [51-53].”
Do “Brain-Training” Programs Work? (2016, background): “com) does not cite any publications on its website, but its ongoing interventions build on a game-training study that was also cited by Cognitive Training Data and reviewed in the “Individual Papers Reporting All Results From an Intervention” subsection (Anguera et al., 2013).”
Gamification of Cognitive Assessment and Cognitive Training: A Systematic Review of Applications and Efficacy (2016, background): “…of treated cases with bulimia nervosa Fagundo et al, 2013 [29] Training Neuroracer Video game training enhances cognitive control in older adults Anguera et al, 2013 [30] Training Braingame Brian A pilot study of the efficacy of a computerized executive functioning remediation training with…”
Computerized Cognitive Training in Cognitively Healthy Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Effect Modifiers (2014, methodology): “Data for 14 studies were provided by authors [22,23,42,49,54–63] (see Table S3).”
Noninvasive neuroimaging enhances continuous neural tracking for robotic device control (2019, background): “These conclusions support the overarching concept of integrating human factors, such as virtual reality techniques (34, 35), into cognitive-based training tools for improving both user engagement and task performance (20, 36–38) and should be considered in future generations of BCIs.”
Nurturing Nature: How Brain Development Is Inherently Social and Emotional, and What This Means for Education (2019, background): “…the quality of one ’ s environment, resources, and relationships (Chan et al., 2018; Noble et al., 2015) and improves with targeted intervention (Anguera et al., 2013; Neville et al., 2013; Pakulak et al., 2017; Rosario Rueda, Rothbart, McCandliss, Saccomanno, & Posner, 2005; Tang & Posner,…”