Effects of sleep deprivation on cognitive performance

Balance (ability)

Cognition

Psychiatry

Economics

Stroop effect

Gait

Preferred walking speed

Task (project management)

Management

Physical therapy

Internal medicine

Medicine

Physical medicine and rehabilitation

Randomized controlled trial

Timed Up and Go test

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

Declined cognitive function interferes with dual-task walking ability and may result in falls in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The mind-body exercise, Tai Chi (TC), improves cognition and dual-task ability. Exergaming is low-cost, safe, highly scalable, and feasible. Whether the effects of exergaming-based TC is beneficial than traditional TC has not been investigated yet.The objective of this study was to investigate effects of exergaming-based TC on cognitive function and dual-task walking among older adults with MCI.Fifty patients with MCI were randomly assigned to an exergaming-based TC (EXER-TC) group, a traditional TC (TC) group, or a control group. The EXER-TC and TC groups received 36 training sessions (three, 50-min sessions per week) during a 12-week period. The control group received no intervention and were instructed to maintain their usual daily physical activities. The outcome variables measured included those related to cognitive function, dual-task cost (DTC), and gait performance.The EXER-TC and TC groups performed better than the control group on the Chinese version of the Stroop Color and Word Test, the Trail Making Test Parts A and B, the one-back test, gait speed, and DTC of gait speed in cognitive dual-task conditions after training. However, there were no significant differences between the EXER-TC and TC groups. Compared with the control group, only the EXER-TC group experienced beneficial effects for the Montreal Cognitive Assessment.EXER-TC was comparable to traditional TC for enhancement of dual-task gait performance and executive function. These results suggested that the EXER-TC approach has potential therapeutic use in older adults with MCI.

Effects of Exergaming-Based Tai Chi on Cognitive Function and Dual-Task Gait Performance in Older Adults With Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Control Trial