Author(s): GUO, L., JIANG, T., Institution: DALIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, Country: CHINA, Abstract-ID: 720

INTRODUCTION:
Global population aging raises the risk of cognitive impairment, with older women particularly affected. Pharmacological treatments for dementia provide limited benefit, prompting renewed interest in exercise-based interventions. Multicomponent training that combines aerobic, resistance, balance, and flexibility exercises can produce synergistic gains in physiological and cognitive function. However, the comparative effects of pairing exergaming with different exercise modalities on specific cognitive domains in older women with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remain unclear. This study examines how distinct multicomponent exercise protocols, each integrated with exergaming, affect cognitive outcomes in this population.
METHODS:
Forty-eight older women with MCI (age: 63.9±4.3 years; education: 11.1±2.8 years; BMI: 24.2±3.1 kg/m²; MoCA: 26.3±2.9) were randomized into four groups: Combo Training (CT: aerobic + resistance + exergaming, n=12), Aero-Exe Training (AET: aerobic + exergaming, n=12), Res-Exe Training (RET: resistance + exergaming, n=12), and health education control (HC, n=12). The supervised 8-week intervention used heart rate monitoring (50–80% of maximum heart rate) to control exercise intensity. Behavioral performance (accuracy-ACC, reaction time-RT) and event-related potentials (ERPs) recorded with a 32-channel EEG were assessed before and after the intervention during cognitive tasks (1-back, Stroop, Oddball, Go/No-go).
RESULTS:
Group comparisons revealed domain-specific improvements. In the 1-back task, CT significantly increased ACC (80.0% to 81.2%, p=0.038, ηp² =0.116) and reduced RT (738.3 ms to 726.7 ms, p=0.027, ηp² =0.125), accompanied by enhanced P300 amplitudes at frontal and parietal sites. For the Stroop task, RET improved ACC (79.2% to 80.8%, p=0.010, ηp² =0.169) and RT (818 ms to 805 ms, p=0.005, ηp² =0.198). During the Oddball task, CT raised ACC for standard stimulus (88.2% to 90.5%, p=0.017, ηp² =0.139), while AET improved processing of deviant stimuli (80.5% to 83.2%, p=0.007, ηp² =0.173). In the Go/No-go task, RET increased inhibitory ACC (75.1% to 77.6%, p=0.017, ηp² =0.158). EEG measures indicated neural efficiency gains in frontal-parietal regions for CT and RET groups. The HC group showed no significant changes in any measure.
CONCLUSION:
Multicomponent exercise integrated with exergaming yielded domain-specific cognitive improvements in older women with MCI. Multicomponent training enhanced working memory and sustained attention, aerobic-exergaming training improved selective attention, and resistance-exergaming training benefited executive/inhibitory functions. These findings underscore the significance of tailored exercise protocols in addressing specific cognitive deficits. Future studies should examine long-term outcomes and underlying molecular mechanisms, such as BDNF signaling.