Characterizing the Synergistic Effects of Physical and Cognitive Training on Attention and Working Memory

NCT03032796 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: 1R21MH110743-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 49
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The primary goal of this project is to evidence potential synergistic benefits on cognitive control processes using a video game ("Body-Brain Trainer", or BBT) that integrates cognitive and physical challenges in a complimentary fashion. Healthy adults will be recruited for a longitudinal experiment and randomly assigned to one of four study groups to mechanistically tease apart the possible presence of any synergistic effects on cognitive abilities through the combination of cognitive \& physical challenges.

Conditions

Healthy Adults

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• mCPT (Derived From Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.))

  A change from baseline regarding measurement of sustained attention and impulsivity abilities

  At baseline and following the intervention (these data were collected no more than 1 week after intervention period ended, thus approximately 9 weeks after baseline data were collected)

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Delayed Recognition Working Memory Task: Response Time Variability Prior to and 9-weeks After Baseline

  At baseline and following the intervention (these data were collected no more than 1 week after intervention period ended, thus approximately 9 weeks after baseline data were collected)

Other Outcomes (4)

• Blood Pressure Measures

  At baseline and following the intervention (these data were collected no more than 1 week after intervention period ended, thus approximately 9 weeks after baseline data were collected)

• Limit of Stability

  At baseline and following the intervention (these data were collected no more than 1 week after intervention period ended, thus approximately 9 weeks after baseline data were collected)

• EEG Functional Measure (Event-related Spectral Perturbation)

  At baseline and following the intervention (these data were collected no more than 1 week after intervention period ended, thus approximately 9 weeks after baseline data were collected)

Study Arms (4)

BBT

EXPERIMENTAL

Body-Brain Trainer

Behavioral: Body-Brain Trainer

Body Trainer

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants will only perform a basic reaction task in each level/module to ensure only the most minimal cognitive challenge is present, while completing all of the physical aspects of BBT. Thus this will be a physical training protocol.

Behavioral: Body Trainer

Brain Trainer

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The "Brain Trainer" group will train using the same platform as the BBT group, except while sitting down and playing with an Xbox control pad (thus removing all physical training aspects).

Behavioral: Brain Trainer

Expectancy Matched Control Group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

The placebo-matched control group will engage in a battery of three apps in the laboratory that we believe will have no significant impact on cognition

Behavioral: Expectancy Matched Control

Interventions

Body-Brain Trainer BEHAVIORAL

A novel video game-based intervention that incorporates i) adaptive algorithms critical for cognitive training, ii) physiological measures such as heart rate into the core game mechanics, and iii) motion capture technology to incorporate whole-body kinematics into game play. This group will train for 36 minutes per day, 3 days a week for 8 weeks.

BBT

Body Trainer BEHAVIORAL

A novel video game-based intervention that incorporates physiological measures such as heart rate into the core game mechanics, with motion capture technology to incorporate whole-body kinematics into game play. This group will train for 36 minutes per day, 3 days a week for 8 weeks. The "Body Trainer" group will train using closed-loop adaptive algorithms to challenge physical performance as guided by heart rate, such that the amount of movement needed to respond on each task will dynamically change depending upon the participant being below/above a predetermined derived level of exertion. During "Body Training", participants will only perform a basic reaction task in each level/module to ensure only the most minimal cognitive challenge is present

Body Trainer

Brain Trainer BEHAVIORAL

The "Brain Trainer" group will train using the aforementioned closed-loop adaptive algorithms to challenge cognitive performance, except while sitting down and playing with an Xbox control pad (thus removing all physical training aspects). This group will train for 36 minutes per day, 3 days a week for 8 weeks.

Brain Trainer

Expectancy Matched Control BEHAVIORAL

The placebo-matched control group will engage in a battery of three apps (playing each app 10 minutes per day, 5 days a week for 8 weeks completed in the laboratory that we believe will have no significant impact on the cognitive or physical fitness measures we are assessing: i) an app with 100 different logic games of varying difficulty and length, ii) a language-learning app with 10 language options, and iii) an app that offers a guided Tai Chi program. We have pre-determined that this approach generates matched expectancy compared to our training groups: we asked 100 naïve individuals to predict how they would expect to improve performance on our outcome measures after training on one of these platforms, revealing that placebo training generates equivalent expectations of improvement across each outcome measure as the BBT group.

Expectancy Matched Control Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 55 Years - 80 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Can walk briskly for at least 15 minutes continuously without stopping
• Can stand up from a chair without using your hands
• Available to come 3x/week to our UCSF Mission Bay laboratory for 8 weeks
• Willing and able to undergo MRI, EEG procedures
• English fluency

You may not qualify if:

• cardiac problems
• bypass surgery
• pacemaker or heart valve replacement
• stroke
• respiratory conditions
• head trauma with loss of consciousness for less than a few minutes
• severe head trauma with loss of consciousness for more than a few minutes
• high/low blood pressure
• kidney failure
• electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)
• seizures
• implanted electrodes
• cancer/chemotherapy/radiation
• diabetes
• irritable bowel syndrome

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, San Francisco: lead

Study Sites (1)

UCSF Neuroscape

San Francisco, California, 94158, United States

Location

Limitations and Caveats

We were not able to collect all four arms as originally intended due to logistical and resource issues.

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Joaquin A. Anguera, Associate Professor, Neuroscape | UCSF
• Organization: University of California San Francisco

joaquin.anguera@ucsf.edu

415-502-7322

Study Officials

• Joaquin A. Anguera, PhD

  University of California, San Francisco

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 12, 2017
• First Posted: January 26, 2017
• Study Start: January 1, 2017
• Primary Completion: March 1, 2020
• Study Completion: March 1, 2020
• Last Updated: September 15, 2025
• Results First Posted: September 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)