The Effect of Aerobic Exercise and Gaming on Cognitive Performance

Summary

Many studies have examined the effects of aerobic exercise and playing video games effects on cognitive performance, which results of which have shown to increase cognitive performance. Presently, there is limited research regarding the effects of the combination of gaming and exercise on cognitive performance. The purpose of our study is to investigate the effects of playing video games, aerobic exercise, and a combination of gaming and aerobic exercise on cognitive performance. Forty healthy subjects, males and females (18-30 years old) who perform moderate exercise at least two times a week will comprise our sample. The study will be a randomized clinical trial with four independent variables: playing video games, aerobic exercise, a combination of simultaneous gaming and aerobic exercise and a control condition. Aerobic exercise will be performed at an intensity of 60 to 70% of maximum heart rate on a Monarch Lower Body Ergometer. Brain Age Game: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day! will be played on Nintendo 3DS. Executive function will be measured using the Stroop test and Trails B pre and posttest. Analysis of variance for Stroop test and Trails B will be used. In the event of significant F statistics, a post hoc test analysis will be used. The investigators hypothesize a combination of aerobic exercise and simultaneous gaming will produce the greatest increase in cognitive performance. Furthermore, these beneficial changes can be utilized in rehabilitation protocols designed to improve cognitive functioning.

Conditions

• Cognitive Performance in Healthy Volunteers

Interventions

OTHER

Aerobic exercise

The research design used will be a randomized control trial using a Latin square in order to randomize the treatment conditions. Subjects will take one of four conditions: 1) Aerobic exercise only 2) Aerobic exercise and Gaming simultaneously 3) Gaming only 4) Sitting quietly. All the conditions will take 30 minutes. The independent variables are the four conditions and the dependent variables are the Stroop test and modified Trails B which measure executive function.

OTHER

Video Gaming

The research design used will be a randomized control trial using a Latin square in order to randomize the treatment conditions. Subjects will take one of four conditions: 1) Aerobic exercise only 2) Aerobic exercise and Gaming simultaneously 3) Gaming only 4) Sitting quietly. All the conditions will take 30 minutes. The independent variables are the four conditions and the dependent variables are the Stroop test and modified Trails B which measure executive function.

OTHER

Aerobic exercise and Video Gaming

The research design used will be a randomized control trial using a Latin square in order to randomize the treatment conditions. Subjects will take one of four conditions: 1) Aerobic exercise only 2) Aerobic exercise and Gaming simultaneously 3) Gaming only 4) Sitting quietly. All the conditions will take 30 minutes. The independent variables are the four conditions and the dependent variables are the Stroop test and modified Trails B which measure executive function.

OTHER

Control

The research design used will be a randomized control trial using a Latin square in order to randomize the treatment conditions. Subjects will take one of four conditions: 1) Aerobic exercise only 2) Aerobic exercise and Gaming simultaneously 3) Gaming only 4) Sitting quietly. All the conditions will take 30 minutes. The independent variables are the four conditions and the dependent variables are the Stroop test and modified Trails B which measure executive function.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• New York Institute of Technology

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2015-06-30

Primary Completion

2016-06-30

Completion

2016-06-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations