None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
A comparison of a concurrent cognitive and physical training intervention, compared to physical or cognitive training alone, in improving cognitive function and driving skills within an ageing population.
Interventions
The concurrent training arm will comprise of participant engaging in simultaneous cognitive and physical training. Participants will be cycling on a stationary cycle ergometer whilst engaging in specific cognitive tasks though BrainHQ software on a Microsoft Surface tablet. Participants will be cycling at above 60% of their age predicted heart rate maximum for 50 minutes with a 3-minute warm-up and cool-down period either side (56 minutes total). Both the physical and cognitive components of the
The concurrent training arm will comprise of participant engaging in simultaneous cognitive and physical training. Participants will be cycling on a stationary cycle ergometer whilst engaging in specific cognitive tasks though BrainHQ software on a Microsoft Surface tablet. Participants will be cycling at above 60% of their age predicted heart rate maximum for 50 minutes with a 3-minute warm-up and cool-down period either side (56 minutes total). Both the physical and cognitive components of the intervention will be delivered by an appropriately qualified exercise professional with experience working with the target population and will be delivered face-to-face where participants attend the University of Canberra to complete the intervention. In total, participants will complete 24 x 50-minute sessions as 2 per week for 12 weeks. The use of a heartrate-based method for intensity will incite progressive overload for the physical component. Similarly, the BrainHQ software is adaptive and will allow for participants to progressively increase the difficulty of cognitive tasks throughout the intervention as they improve. Therefore, despite all participants completing the same duration and number of sessions, each individual’s experience will be slightly personalised based on both physical and cognitive capabilities. Each session, participants will complete up to 4 separate cognitive tasks within the BrainHQ software of a total of 6 tasks that will rotate between sessions, including: target tracker, eye for detail, double decision, scene crasher, mind bender and mental map which are detailed on BrainHQ's website https://v4.brainhq.com/
Sponsors
National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
60 Years to 75 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
- Generally healthy sedentary to recreationally active older adults living in the community aged 60-75 years - Sufficient English proficiency to participate in all aspects of the study - Adequate corrected visual and auditory acuity necessary to undertake the assessment and intervention tasks - Current and valid drivers license
Exclusion criteria
- Major neurological conditions (dementia, Parkinson's, MS, stroke, etc.) - Major psychiatric conditions (major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, etc.) - Physical impairments that preclude participation in the physical activity conditions - Major chronic conditions that may put participants at risk (e.g. angina, COPD, arrhythmias, etc.) - Significant visual or auditory impairment that preclude participation in the cognitive tasks or communication with the research team
Outcome results
None listed