Although our cognitive functions decline with age, some previous study showed that the brain retains some plasticity with age –. Decline in cognitive abilities has been shown to lead to difficulty performing basic activities of daily living, –. The elderly may experience a decline in a number of cognitive functions, including memory, , attention, executive functions, , processing speed. Our cognitive functions change over our lifetimes. However, the brain training game showed no transfer effect on any global cognitive status nor attention. Results showed that the effects of the brain training game were transferred to executive functions and to processing speed. Measures of the cognitive functions fell into four categories (global cognitive status, executive functions, attention, and processing speed).
Measures of the cognitive functions were conducted before and after training. Each group played for a total of about 20 days. Participants in both the Brain Age and the Tetris groups played their game for about 15 minutes per day, at least 5 days per week, for 4 weeks. To maximize the benefit of the interventions, all participants were non-gamers who reported playing less than one hour of video games per week over the past 2 years. This study was completed by 14 of the 16 members in the Brain Age group and 14 of the 16 members in the Tetris group.
Thirty-two elderly volunteers were recruited through an advertisement in the local newspaper and randomly assigned to either of two game groups (Brain Age, Tetris).