Exergames and Brain Activity in the Elderly

14 seniors with Val/Val, Val/Met, and Met/Met genotypes were randomly assigned to Exergames and Conventional. For an 8-week period, the exercise groups engaged in exercise training. Brain activity during a Stroop Task and hippocampal volumetry pre- and post-test were measured by functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI). Exergames exhibited higher brain activation than Conventional after the post-test (p < 0.05). For the Exergames group, pre-and post-tests evoked activation in the right inferior occipital gyrus, left inferior occipital gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus, with greater activation shown in the post-test condition. The BDNF Val66Met gene polymorphism did not influence hippocampal volume after either training regimen.