Brain games: the effect of computerized cognitive training with and without exercise on the brain

The world’s population is aging and thus, it is more important than ever before that we find strategies to promote healthy cognitive aging. Lifestyle interventions can play an important role in delaying the onset of age-related cognitive decline. Engaging in computerized cognitive training (CCT) or exercise can improve cognitive performance in older adults. Unlike exercise, the impact of CCT on cortical structure is not well established. The primary objective of this thesis is to compare the effect of 8-weeks of CCT, with or without exercise, on cortical structure with an active control group in community-dwelling older adults. The secondary objective is to examine whether changes in cortical structure are associated with changes in executive functions. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data acquired from an 8-week, 3-arm proof of concept randomized controlled trial (RCT) was used. Participants were randomized to control; balance and toned (BAT); FitBrains (FBT); or Exercise + FitBrains (Ex-FBT). Measurement occurred at baseline and trial completion (8-weeks). Fifty-three participants with high quality MRI were included for final analysis. Two model matrices were built to compare BAT vs FBT and BAT vs Ex-FBT, controlling for age, sex, and Montreal Cognitive Assessment score. Additionally, partial correlations between change in executive functions and change in cortical structure were performed. The FBT intervention decreased cortical volume in the left rostral middle frontal gyrus (rMFG) compared with the BAT intervention. The Ex-FBT intervention increased or maintained cortical thickness in the left superior parietal gyrus (sPG) and right sPG compared with the BAT intervention. Secondary analysis of significant clusters showed no significant correlations between left sPG thickness, right sPG thickness, left rMFG volume and changes in executive functions. The potential implications of these results are: 1) combining exercise with CCT may preserve cortical thickness in community-dwelling older adults; 2) CCT on its own may negatively impact the brain because it is a sedentary activity; 3) changes in executive functions may not correlate with change in cortical structure. Finally, this thesis showed that eight-weeks of exercise combined with CCT is of sufficient duration to induce structural change in the brain.Medicine, Faculty ofGraduat