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

项目摘要 环境富集的积极影响及其神经基础在生物学中得到了广泛的研究。 啮齿动物。例如，简单地改变动物的生活环境以促进感官刺激可以导致 增强海马体认知和神经可塑性以及改善记忆缺陷 与神经退行性疾病如阿尔茨海默病和衰老有关。虽然许多研究 人类老龄化集中在65岁及以上的个体，认知的许多方面（包括 记忆），这表明在整个寿命下降。此外，目前对抗阿尔茨海默氏症的策略 疾病主要集中在早期预防。因此，40-49岁年龄组代表了一个 研究不足的年龄组，这可能会受益于旨在改善记忆的认知干预 性能在这个建议中，我们假设，探索广阔的和视觉刺激的虚拟世界， 视频游戏中的环境，是人类与环境丰富的相关性。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，我们不断适应新的经验， 在我们的日常生活中，视频游戏培训可以提供一个渠道， 优化环境丰富的认知和神经益处，用作行为干预 来提高记忆力，可能还有海马体的功能我们实验室最近发表的数据 已经提供了证据表明，在无关的依赖于记忆的任务上的记忆表现， 在年轻成人中进行为期2周的3D视频游戏训练后，相比之下，在2D上训练 视频游戏并没有导致记忆性能的提升。在这里，我们试图探索神经的贡献， 通过评估40-49岁成人的海马结构和功能， 岁此外，我们试图确定这种干预范式的关键特征，以探索 视频游戏的特征（空间方面，游戏的复杂性，或一些组合）来评估 丰富环境培训的潜在好处。这些数据提供了一个桥梁， 文献探索环境富集的好处，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例为精确的技能提供了益处， 经过训练（例如，在许多试验过程中反应时间有所改善），但不能推广到其他任务， 认知领域我们的初步数据表明，在3D视频游戏训练后， 不相关的，依赖于营地的任务得到改善，这是非常罕见的，并提供了巨大的潜力， 康复技术。通过关注一个熟悉技术但开始表现出 与年龄相关的认知能力下降的微妙迹象，我们可以探索这种训练的神经和认知益处。 这种训练的好处有可能应用于脑损伤后的康复， 神经系统疾病，教育，甚至可能是普通人群的利益。

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.