Cognitive Training Through Gaming and Walking

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Status

Completed

Conditions

Healthy Lifestyle

Treatments

Behavioral: Walking + PolyRules! (W+PolyRules!)

Behavioral: Walking (W)

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT04638413

STUDY00001030

Details and patient eligibility

About

This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of combining daily walking and gamified inhibitory control training. Feasibility was defined by recruitment, retention, and adherence to arm requirements, with secondary, exploratory analyses examining cognitive function outcomes

Full description

This pilot study evaluated the feasibility of combining a walking regimen with gamified inhibitory control training (PolyRules!), compared to walking alone, on cognitive outcomes among healthy adults (ages 18 and over). Participants (n=30) will first be asked to wear a Fitbit for one week to capture baseline activity. Participants will then be randomized to (1) walking alone regimen or (2) walking + gamified inhibitory control training for three weeks. Cognitive assessments will be conducted at enrollment and at the end of the 4-week study protocol. The primary outcome of the pilot trial is feasibility as defined by recruitment, retention, and adherence to arm requirements. Engagement and adherence will be operationalized as the frequency and duration of cognitive training passively recorded on the PolyRules! app and frequency and duration of walking as monitored by Fitbit data. Secondary outcomes examined cognitive function outcomes performance: changes in attention and inhibitory control [Cancellation task, Flanker task, and Rule Set task]; And working memory capacity [N-Back task, Letter-Numbers task, and Corsi task]. Qualitative indicators will also be collected via semi-structured interviews to capture participants' satisfaction, perceived benefits of- and/or barriers to engaging with the cognitive training and/or walking regimens.

Enrollment

32 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 99 years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Able to read, write, and speak English with acceptable visual and auditory acuity, as the app is only available in English
Able and willing to walk independently with or without walking aids
Able and willing to engage in 30 minutes of walking daily
Able and willing to wear a fitness tracking device (e.g. Fitbit)
Not currently engaging in a daily walking regimen of 30 minutes or more a day

Exclusion criteria

Visual impairments that would preclude participants from using the app
Undergoing active cancer treatment
Diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy, severe musculoskeletal or neurodegenerative disease (e.g. dementia, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, etc.)
Taking medications that may affect cognitive function
Pacemaker, implantable cardiac defibrillator, neuro-stimulation devices, cochlear implants, implantable hearing aids, or other electronic medical equipment