Brain training using cognitive apps can improve cognitive performance and processing speed in older adults

Funder: Fondation Philippe Wiener - Maurice Anspach; doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003138Funder: Wallit FoundationFunder: Eton CollegeFunder: NIHR MedTech and in vitro diagnostic Co-operative (MIC)Funder: NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Mental Health and Neurodegeneration ThemesAbstract: Managing age-related decrease of cognitive function is an important public health challenge, especially in the context of the global aging of the population. Over the last years several Cognitive Mobile Games (CMG) have been developed to train and challenge the brain. However, currently the level of evidence supporting the benefits of using CMG in real-life use is limited in older adults, especially at a late age. In this study we analyzed game scores and the processing speed obtained over the course of 100 sessions in 12,000 subjects aged 60 to over 80 years. Users who trained with the games improved regardless of age in terms of scores and processing speed throughout the 100 sessions, suggesting that old and very old adults can improve their cognitive performance using CMG in real-life use