Combined exercise and cognitive training intervention in normal aging

描述(由申请人提供)：这是一项初步研究，旨在测试健康老年人中与年龄相关的认知下降的候选干预措施。流行病学证据表明，认知训练和体育锻炼对认知和健康的老年人个体有积极的影响。来自动物研究的证据表明，丰富的环境和有氧运动可以诱导增加神经可塑性的变化。我们建议测试认知干预和有氧运动的组合。以前对老年人的认知干预取得了一些成功，但效果相对较小。我们假设有氧运动对大脑的影响可以增强我们提议的认知干预的好处，导致更大的影响大小，以前在干预研究中看到过。到目前为止，认知干预研究中的一个常见问题是，培训未能推广到其他任务。我们建议的认知干预在太空堡垒游戏的背景下使用重点改变训练，这是一款专门为研究目的开发的复杂且要求苛刻的视频游戏。重点改变训练方法已被证明能增强年轻个体的注意力控制和执行功能。由于正常衰老与控制过程和执行功能的下降有关，我们假设增强这些功能将导致许多任务和日常活动的普遍改善。此外，先前对年轻人和老年人的研究都发现，重点改变训练方法与将训练转移到其他任务有关。90名老年人将被随机分为三个学习组：对照组，单独进行太空堡垒训练，以及演习内的太空堡垒训练。在实验室和健身中心进行的正式干预期限为三个月，包括前后测试。为了测试长期维持治疗的可行性，完成这一额外培训的参与者将在家中继续他们各自的培训计划一年。将监测遵守情况，并评估这一长期培训的效果。 公共卫生相关性：来自动物和人类研究的证据有力地表明，有氧运动和认知刺激对认知有好处，但对健康老年人的干预研究并未显示出大的改善，这些改善也没有转移到日常活动中。这项拟议研究的目标是评估有氧运动和认知干预相结合的好处，旨在增强执行控制过程。这种联合干预可能会提供更多的好处，而有针对性的认知功能可能会使训练推广到许多其他任务和活动。这种干预可能会显著改善健康老年人的日常功能，这对公共卫生具有巨大的潜在意义。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a pilot study to test a candidate intervention for age-related cognitive decline in healthy older individuals. Epidemiologic evidence suggests that cognitive training and physical exercise have positive effects on cognition and healthy elderly individuals. Evidence from animal studies indicate that enriched environment and aerobic exercise can induce changes that increase neural plasticity. We propose to test a combination of a cognitive intervention and aerobic exercise. There has been some success with previous cognitive interventions in elderly individuals, but effect sizes have been relatively small. We hypothesize that the effects of aerobic exercise on the brain can potentiate the benefit of our proposed cognitive intervention, resulting in larger effect sizes and previously seen in intervention studies. A common problem in cognitive intervention studies to date is the failure of the training to generalize to other tasks. Our proposed cognitive intervention uses emphasis change training in the context of the space fortress game, a complex and demanding video game that was specifically developed for research purposes. The emphasis change training approach has been shown to enhance attentional control and executive functions in younger individuals. Because normal aging is associated with declines in control processes and executive function, we hypothesize that enhancing these functions will result in generalized improvement across many tasks and day-to-day activities. Also, previous studies in both young and old individuals have found that the emphasis change training approach is associated with transfer of training to other tasks. Ninety elders will be randomized into three study arms: control, space fortress training alone, and space fortress training within the exercise. The formal intervention period, conducted in the laboratory and fitness center, will be three months, with pre- and post-testing. In order to test the feasibility of maintenance of treatment over long periods of time, participants completing this additional training period will continue their respective training program at home for one year. Compliance will be monitored and the efficacy of this long- term training will be assessed. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Evidence from animal and human studies strongly suggests that aerobic exercise and cognitive stimulation have a beneficial effect on cognition, but intervention studies in healthy elders have not shown large improvements, and these improvements have not transferred to day-to-day activities. The goal of the proposed study is to evaluate the benefit of a combination of aerobic exercise and a cognitive intervention designed to enhance executive control processes. This combined intervention may provide enhanced benefits, and the targeted cognitive functions may enable generalization of training to many other tasks and activities. The possibility that this intervention may markedly improve day-to-day function in healthy elders has enormous potential significance for public health.