NCT03032796

Characterizing the Synergistic Effects of Physical and Cognitive Training on Attention and Working Memory

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 49 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, San Francisco · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 55 Years – 80 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The primary goal of this project is to evidence potential synergistic benefits on cognitive control processes using a video game ("Body-Brain Trainer", or BBT) that integrates cognitive and physical challenges in a complimentary fashion. Healthy adults will be recruited for a longitudinal experiment and randomly assigned to one of four study groups to mechanistically tease apart the possible presence of any synergistic effects on cognitive abilities through the combination of cognitive \& physical challenges.

Detailed description

Cognitive control functions (e.g. attention, working memory, goal-management) dictate our ability to learn and accomplish selected behavioral goals, with deficiencies in these processes found in a range of mental illnesses. The primary goal of this project is to evidence potential synergistic benefits on cognitive control processes using a video game ("Body-Brain Trainer", or BBT) that integrates cognitive and physical challenges in a complimentary fashion. Healthy adults will be recruited for a longitudinal experiment and randomly assigned to one of four study groups: 1) BBT, 2) "Brain Training" (BBT played with a gamepad controller), 3) "Body Training" (BBT without any cognitive demands), and 4) an expectancy matched placebo control group. Individuals will engage in eight weeks of training within our Neuroscape Laboratory, with pre- and post-training assessments evaluating physical, cognitive, and neural measures. The completion of this project will result in a more sophisticated understanding of how the integration of cognitive and physical training potentially impacts cognitive control processes, setting the stage for more effective interventions for mental illness and learning-related impairments.

Conditions

• Healthy Adults

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Body-Brain Trainer	A novel video game-based intervention that incorporates i) adaptive algorithms critical for cognitive training, ii) physiological measures such as heart rate into the core game mechanics, and iii) motion capture technology to incorporate whole-body kinematics into game play. This group will train for 36 minutes per day, 3 days a week for 8 weeks.
BEHAVIORAL	Body Trainer	A novel video game-based intervention that incorporates physiological measures such as heart rate into the core game mechanics, with motion capture technology to incorporate whole-body kinematics into game play. This group will train for 36 minutes per day, 3 days a week for 8 weeks. The "Body Trainer" group will train using closed-loop adaptive algorithms to challenge physical performance as guided by heart rate, such that the amount of movement needed to respond on each task will dynamically change depending upon the participant being below/above a predetermined derived level of exertion. During "Body Training", participants will only perform a basic reaction task in each level/module to ensure only the most minimal cognitive challenge is present
BEHAVIORAL	Brain Trainer	The "Brain Trainer" group will train using the aforementioned closed-loop adaptive algorithms to challenge cognitive performance, except while sitting down and playing with an Xbox control pad (thus removing all physical training aspects). This group will train for 36 minutes per day, 3 days a week for 8 weeks.
BEHAVIORAL	Expectancy Matched Control	The placebo-matched control group will engage in a battery of three apps (playing each app 10 minutes per day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks completed in the laboratory that we believe will have no significant impact on the cognitive or physical fitness measures we are assessing: i) an app with 100 different logic games of varying difficulty and length, ii) a language-learning app with 10 language options, and iii) an app that offers a guided Tai Chi program. We have pre-determined that this approach generates matched expectancy compared to our training groups: we asked 100 naïve individuals to predict how they would expect to improve performance on our outcome measures after training on one of these platforms, revealing that placebo training generates equivalent expectations of improvement across each outcome measure as the BBT group.

Timeline

• Start date: 2017-01-01
• Primary completion: 2020-03-01
• Completion: 2020-03-01
• First posted: 2017-01-26
• Last updated: 2025-09-15
• Results posted: 2025-09-15

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States