Key result
Combined cognitive-and-physical training and cognitive training alone both improved short-term updating compared to control, but cognitive training alone showed greater long-term persistence of benefits.
Why the study?
Cognitive and physical training can enhance cognition in the elderly, but the relative effectiveness of combined cognitive-and-physical training versus cognitive training alone on executive function and working memory remained to be compared.
Does combined cognitive-and-physical training or cognitive training alone improve executive function and working memory in healthy older adults?
RCT (n=48)
Open-label
Pseudo-randomized
No
Does combined cognitive-and-physical training or cognitive training alone improve executive function and working memory in healthy older adults?
Effect estimate: F(8, 64) = 2.9
p-value: p=0.008
Cognitive training alone may provide superior long-term persistence of cognitive benefits compared to combined cognitive and physical training in healthy older adults.
Cognitive training alone may be prioritized for sustained executive gains in older adults; extends RCT evidence on training modality durability.
Introduction Cognitive and physical (especially aerobic) training have been reported to enhance cognition in the elderly. The goal of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two types of training, namely combined cognitive-and-physical training and cognitive training alone, for cognition and in particular for executive function and working memory. Material and Method Healthy older adults (aged 65–86 years) were included in cognitive-and-physical - CAP (n=16) - or cognitive - COG (n=16) - training groups or in a passive control group – CONT (n=16). The training took place in 60-minute sessions conducted twice a week for 8 weeks. Cognitive functions were assessed before and immediately after the interventions and at a 1-month follow-up. Results In the short-term, the CAP and COG groups showed a transfer on updating, unlike the CONT group. In the long-term, although the gains achieved by both CAP and COG persisted, the benefit observed in the COG group was greater than that in the CAP group. Conclusion Our data suggest that there may be a complementarity between cognitive and physical training effects at the level of short-term transfer, given that physical training was able to boost cognitive training. Moreover, regarding transfer, physical training may help improve performance on untrained tasks. However, as far as the long-term persistence of the benefits of training is concerned, the results tend to indicate the superiority of cognitive training.
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Joubert et al. (2019) conducted an RCT in Normal aging (n=48). Combined cognitive-and-physical training vs. Cognitive training alone and passive control was evaluated on Executive function and working memory accuracy (F(8, 64) = 2.9, p=0.008). Combined cognitive-and-physical training and cognitive training alone both improved short-term updating compared to control, but cognitive training alone showed greater long-term persistence of benefits.
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