Village Interactive Training and Learning Study

Summary

The purpose of this research study is to help scientists and health care providers learn more about preventing dementia and brain disease in older adults. There is an urgent need to develop strategies to prevent or slow down memory loss and brain function decline in the elderly.

In this study, the investigators hope to learn how physical exercise and a brain training program work together to improve thinking and memory in older adults. Specifically, these aims include:

* Learning whether physical activities (like biking or treadmill walking or Wii Fit games) will help improve the benefits of a brain training program. Based on preliminary results and that in the literature, the investigators anticipate greater cognitive benefits in the Exercise + Cognitive training groups than the Cognitive Training alone group.
* To determine whether the benefits of adding exercise will occur quickly or develop more gradually over time. The investigators suspect that a major benefit of exercise pre-dosing will occur by the 12th week of the program.
* To examine whether Wii-Fit exercise games cause similar effects on brain training as traditional exercise programs such as biking or walking. Although several recent studies have raised questions about the true aerobic benefit of exergames such as Wii-Fit Plus, other evidence suggests that these weaker aerobic benefits may be offset by the greater novelty and interest level afforded by exergames.

Conditions

• Aged

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Exercise

Participants will do physical activity that raises heart rate to a target heart rate (THR)zone which is pre-calculated using the Karvonen Formula: (THR={(max. heart rate- rest heart rate) x %intensity} + resting heart rate Participants begin exercise regimen starting at 50% THR for intensity and gradually increase by 5% up to a maximum of 75% THR. Activity duration begins at 10 mins./day and increases 5 mins. every week following to a maximum of 40 mins. Polar Heart Rate monitors are used to measure THR and save resulting data.

BEHAVIORAL

Exergames

Participants experience Wii Video Games in a standardized format, beginning with 15 mins of seated play per day on week one, and then increasing 5 mins./week on each week following up to a maximum of 40mins. of play. Participants are made aware of the Target Heart Rate Zone for the week, but are not required to reach that zone during play. The THR is calculated by the Karvonen Formula: THR={(max. heart rate- rest heart rate) x %intensity} + resting heart rate Polar Heart Rate monitors are used to measure THR and save resulting data.

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive Training

Posit Science INSIGHT program games are used for all cognitive training. Participants are exposed to (2) forty minute game sessions per day, for the cognitive training weeks #4,8,12,16. INSIGHT Assessments are done at baseline, the start of each training week and at week 28.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Florida

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Dawn Bowers, Ph.D. · University of Florida- PHHP, CHP

• Michael M Marsiske, Ph.D. · University of Florida, PHHP, CHP

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Max Age

95 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2010-01-31

Primary Completion

2015-05-31

Completion

2015-05-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations