Effects of a video game on cognitive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

The purpose of this quasi-experimental research was to study the effects of a cognitive-specific video game in older adults with MCI. Twenty volunteers aged 54-74 years fulfilling diagnosis criteria for MCI were enrolled. The screening instruments include Thai Mental State Examination (TMSE) and Thai version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-Thai). The samples were divided into 2 groups, the Video game Group and Control Group. The Video game Group received 12 session of speed-attention type video game training. Cognitive functions in areas of attention, visual memory, processing speed and executive functions were assessed using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Battery (CANTAB) at baseline and after 6 weeks or 12 sessions of training. The results showed that at 6 weeks, the Video game Group had significant improvement in executive function in an area of working memory compared to Control Group (p < 0.05). The significant within group effects of pre- and post training for the Video game group showed improvement in processing speed and executive function test outcomes of problem solving and visual learning tasks (CANTAB OTS and PAL). The result indicated that there is a possibility which the elderly with MCI could improve executive functions from cognitive training. Although the present study is a pilot study with small samples, nevertheless, the results are promising for the further investigation and development of cognitive-specific video games in larger, more diverse samples.

本准实验研究旨在探究针对轻度认知障碍（MCI）老年人的认知专项视频游戏的干预效果。本研究共招募20名年龄介于54至74岁、符合轻度认知障碍诊断标准的志愿者，所用筛查工具包括泰国版精神状态检查（Thai Mental State Examination，TMSE）与泰国版蒙特利尔认知评估量表（Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Thai，MoCA-Thai）。研究将受试者分为两组：视频游戏组与对照组，其中视频游戏组完成12次速度-注意力型视频游戏训练课程。于基线状态及完成12次训练（即6周）后，采用剑桥神经心理测试成套测验（Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Battery，CANTAB）对受试者的注意力、视觉记忆、加工速度及执行功能等认知领域进行评估。结果显示，干预6周后，视频游戏组在工作记忆相关执行功能维度上的改善程度显著优于对照组（p < 0.05）。视频游戏组的组内前后测对比结果显示，其加工速度以及问题解决、视觉学习任务（CANTAB OTS与PAL任务）的执行功能测试成绩均有显著提升。本研究结果提示，轻度认知障碍老年人可通过认知专项训练改善执行功能。尽管本研究为小样本预实验，但其所得结果为后续在更大规模、更多元化样本中开展认知专项视频游戏的研究与开发提供了可期的方向。