Videogame-based environmental enrichment training for altercations in hippocampal function and memory in middle-aged adults

项目摘要 环境富集化的积极作用及其神经基础已在 啮齿动物。例如，简单地改变动物的生活环境来促进感官刺激可能会导致 增强海马区的认知和神经可塑性，以及改善记忆缺陷 与阿尔茨海默病和衰老等神经退行性疾病有关。虽然许多关于 人类的老龄化主要集中在65岁及以上的个人，有很多方面的认知(包括 记忆力)，这表明寿命呈下降趋势。此外，目前对抗阿尔茨海默氏症的策略 疾病的重点是早期预防。因此，40-49岁的年龄组代表着一种 研究不足的年龄段，这可能受益于旨在改善记忆的认知干预 性能。在这个提议中，我们假设探索广阔的和视觉刺激的虚拟 电子游戏中的环境，是人类相互关联的环境的丰富。虽然人类，在 在许多方面，我们已经生活在一个丰富的环境中，我们正在不断适应新的体验和 每天在我们自己的环境中发生的情况。视频游戏培训可能会提供一种渠道 优化环境浓缩的认知和神经益处作为行为干预 用于改善记忆能力，可能还有海马体功能。我们实验室最近公布的数据 已经提供了证据表明，在不相关的海马体依赖任务中的记忆表现 在对年轻人进行了为期两周的3D视频游戏培训后，情况有所改善。相比之下，在2D上进行培训 视频游戏并没有提高内存性能。在这里，我们试图探索神经的贡献 在40-49岁的成年人中，通过前后设计评估海马体的结构和功能来进行这种训练 很多年了。此外，我们试图确定这种干预范式的关键特征，以探索关键 视频游戏的特征(空间方面、游戏的复杂性或某种组合)来评估 环境浓缩培训的潜在好处。这些数据为许多啮齿类动物提供了一座桥梁 探索环境丰富的益处的文献，将这些原则扩展到人类。大部分 目前研究或使用的认知干预范式为精确的技能存在提供了好处 经过训练(例如，在许多试验过程中改善反应时间)，但它们不适用于其他任务或 认知域。我们的初步数据表明，在3D视频游戏训练之后，表现在 不相关的、依赖海马体的任务得到改善，这是极其罕见的，并提供了巨大的潜力作为 康复技术。专注于精通技术的年龄段，但开始展示 如果出现与年龄相关的认知功能下降的细微迹象，我们可以探索这种训练对神经和认知的好处。 这种训练的好处有可能被应用于脑损伤后的康复和 神经疾病、教育，甚至可能是普通民众的利益。

Project Summary The positive effects of environmental enrichment and their neural bases have been extensively studied in the rodent. For example, simply modifying an animal’s living environment to promote sensory stimulation can lead to enhancements in hippocampal cognition and neuroplasticity as well as to improve memory deficits associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease and aging. While many studies of human aging have focused on individuals aged 65 and older, there are many aspects of cognition (including memory), which show a decline across the lifespan. In addition, current strategies for combating Alzheimer’s Disease are focused heavily on early prevention. Thus, the age group of 40-49 years old represents an understudied age group, which may benefit from a cognitive intervention aimed at improving memory performance. In this proposal, we hypothesize that the exploration of the vast and visually stimulating virtual environments within video games, is a human correlate of environmental enrichment. Although humans, in many ways, already live in an enriched environment, we are constantly adapting to new experiences and situations within our own environment on a daily basis. Video game training may provide a conduit for optimizing the cognitive and neural benefits of environmental enrichment for use as a behavioral intervention for improving memory performance, and possibly, hippocampal function. Recent published data from our lab has already provided evidence that memory performance on unrelated hippocampal-dependent tasks is improved following a 2-week training period on a 3D video game in young adults. In contrast, training on a 2D video game did not result in a boost in memory performance. Here, we seek to explore the neural contributions to this training by evaluating hippocampal structure and function in a pre/post design in adults, aged 40-49 years old. Further, we seek to determine the key features of such an intervention paradigm to explore the key features of video games (the spatial aspect, the complexity of the game, or some combination) to evaluate the potential benefit of environmental enrichment training. These data provide a bridge to much of the rodent literature exploring the benefits of environmental enrichment, extending these principles into humans. Most of the cognitive intervention paradigms currently studied or in use provide a benefit for the precise skill being trained (e.g. improved reaction time over the course of many trials), but they do not generalize to other tasks or cognitive domains. Our preliminary data suggests that following 3D video game training, performance on unrelated, hippocampal-dependent tasks is improved, which is extremely rare and offers great potential as a rehabilitation technique. By focusing on an age group that is fluent with technology, but beginning to exhibit subtle signs of age-related cognitive decline, we can explore the neural and cognitive benefits of such training. The benefits of such training have the potential to be applied to rehabilitation following brain injury and neurological disease, education, and possibly even the benefit of the general population.