Human aging is associated with structural and functional brain deteriorations and a corresponding cognitive decline. Exergaming (i.e., physically active video-gaming) has been supposed to attenuate age-related brain deteriorations and may even improve cognitive functions in healthy older adults. Effects of exergaming, however, vary largely across studies. Moreover, the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms by which exergaming may affect cognitive and brain function are still poorly understood. Therefore, we systematically reviewed the effects of exergame interventions on cognitive outcomes and neurophysiological correlates in healthy older adults (>60 years). After screening 2709 studies (Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Pubmed, Scopus), we found 15 eligible studies, four of which comprised neurophysiological measures. Most studies reported within group improvements in exergamers and favorable interaction effects compared to passive controls. Fewer studies found superior effects of exergaming over physically active control groups and, if so, solely for executive functions. Regarding individual cognitive domains, results showed no consistence. Positive effects on neurophysiological outcomes were present in all respective studies. In summary, exergaming seems to be equally or slightly more effective than other physical interventions on cognitive functions in healthy older adults. Tailored interventions using well-considered exergames and intervention designs, however, may result in more distinct effects on cognitive functions.

Driving is a complex cognitive-motor task that requires the continuous integration of multisensory information, cognitive processes, and motor actions. With higher age, driving becomes increasingly challenging as a result of naturally declining neurophysiological resources. Performing additional subtasks, such as conversations with passengers or interactions with in-vehicle devices (e.g., adjusting the radio), may further challenge neurocognitive resources that are required to maintain driving performance. Based on declining brain physiological resources and inferior neurocognitive functioning, older adults (OA) may show higher brain activation and larger performance decrements than younger adults (YA) when engaging in additional subtasks during driving. Age differences, however, may further vary for different neurocognitive task demands, such that driving performance of OA might be particularly affected by certain subtasks. In this study, we hence investigated the brain functional correlates of age differences in driving behavior during concurrent subtask performance in YA and OA. Our final sample consisted of thirty younger (21.80 ± 1.73y, 15 female) and thirty older (69.43 ± 3.30y, 12 female) regular drivers that drove along a typical rural road (25 - 30 min) in a driving simulator and performed three different concurrent subtasks that were presented auditorily or visually: typing a 3-digit number (TYPE), comparing traffic news and gas station prices (working memory, WM), and stating arguments (ARG). We measured variability in lateral car position, velocity, and following distance to a frontal lead car as the standard deviation from 0 to 15 s after subtask onset. Brain activity was continuously recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Both YA and OA particularly varied in their lateral position during TYPE with a more pronounced effect in OA. For YA, in contrast, ARG led to higher variability in velocity compared to TYPE and WM, whereas OA showed no task-specific differences. Substantiating our behavioral findings, OA revealed the largest brain functional response to TYPE, while YA demonstrated a very distinct activation during ARG and smaller hemodynamic responses to TYPE and WM. Brain activity in the DLPFC was, overall, not significantly, but small to moderately related to certain behavioral performance parameters (mainly lateral position). We conclude that both OA and YA are vulnerable to distractive subtasks while driving. Age differences, however, seem to largely depend on neurocognitive task demands. OA may be at higher risk for accidents when performing visuo-motor subtasks (e.g., interacting with navigational systems) during driving while YA may be more (cognitively) distracted when talking to passengers.

Numerous studies have reported the beneficial effects of acute exercise on executive functions. Less is known, however, about the effects of exercise on working memory as one subcomponent of executive functions and about its effects on older adults. We investigated the effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on working memory performance, the respective cortical hemodynamic activation patterns, and the development and persistence of such effects in healthy older adults. Forty-four participants (M: 69.18 years ± 3.92; 21 females) performed a letter 2-back task before and at three time points after (post 15 min, post 30 min, and post 45 min) either listening to an audiobook or exercising (15 min; 50% VO₂-peak). Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to assess cortical hemodynamic activation and brain-behavior correlations in the fronto-parietal working memory network. Overall, we found no group differences for working memory performance. However, only within the experimental group, 2-back performance was enhanced 15 min and 45 min post-exercise. Furthermore, 15 min post-exercise frontal activation predicted working memory performance, regardless of group. In sum, our results indicate slight beneficial effects of acute moderate-intensity exercise on working memory performance in healthy older adults. Findings are discussed in light of the cognitive aging process and moderators affecting the exercise-cognition relationship.

Walking while performing an additional cognitive task (dual-task walking; DT walking) is a common yet highly demanding behavior in daily life. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that performance declines from single-task (ST) to DT conditions are accompanied by increased prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity. This increment is particularly pronounced in older adults and has been explained either by compensation, dedifferentiation, or inefficient task processing in fronto-parietal circuits. However, there is only limited evidence for the hypothesized fronto-parietal activity changes measured under real-life conditions such as walking. In this study, we therefore assessed brain activity in PFC and parietal lobe (PL), to investigate whether higher PFC activation during DT walking in older adults is related to compensation, dedifferentiation, or neural inefficiency. Fifty-six healthy older adults (69.11 ± 4.19 years, 30 female) completed three tasks (treadmill walking at 1 m/s, Stroop task, Serial 3's task) under ST and DT conditions (Walking + Stroop, Walking + Serial 3's), and a baseline standing task. Behavioral outcomes were step time variability (Walking), Balance Integration Score BIS (Stroop), and number of correct calculations S3_corr (Serial 3's). Brain activity was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) over ventrolateral and dorsolateral PFC (vlPFC, dlPFC) and inferior and superior PL (iPL, sPL). Neurophysiological outcome measures were oxygenated (HbO₂) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HbR). Linear mixed models with follow-up estimated marginal means contrasts were applied to investigate region-specific upregulations of brain activation from ST to DT conditions. Furthermore, the relationships of DT-specific activations across all brain regions was analyzed as well as the relationship between changes in brain activation and changes in behavioral performance from ST to DT. Data indicated the expected upregulation from ST to DT and that DT-related upregulation was more pronounced in PFC (particularly in vlPFC) than in PL regions. Activation increases from ST to DT were positively correlated between all brain regions, and higher brain activation changes predicted higher declines in behavioral performance from ST to DT. Results were largely consistent for both DTs (Stroop and Serial 3's). These findings more likely suggest neural inefficiency and dedifferentiation in PFC and PL rather than fronto-parietal compensation during DT walking in older adults. Findings have implications for interpreting and promoting efficacy of long-term interventions to improve DT walking in older persons.

Background: Childhood obesity is associated with various health outcomes. Restrictive measures to contain the spread of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, like lockdowns and school closures, affected children’s daily structure, physical activity, dietary habits, and sleep quality, possibly exacerbating risk factors for childhood obesity and higher body mass index (BMI) in children. Poor socioeconomic conditions may have led to relatively higher risk for elevated BMI levels following pandemic measures. In this study, the impact of measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic on the BMI of third graders was investigated regarding children’s socioeconomic background (SEB).Methods: Data from 41,728 children (8.84 ± 0.56 years, 20,431 female) were collected in the context of a cohort study. Children were tested either before the pandemic (pre_COVID: Sept2017–March2020,n = 26,314), or following the first (post_LDI: Aug2020–Dec2020,n = 6657) or second lockdown in Germany (post_LDII: Aug2021–Jan2022,n = 8757). SEB was based on the official school type classification of the state of Berlin. Outcome was BMI standard deviation scores (SDS).Results: Significant effects of Time and SEB revealed elevated BMIs in post_LDI(M = 0.23,p = 0.011) and post_LDII(M = 0.22,p = 0.011) compared to pre_COVID(M = 0.17) cohorts and higher BMIs for children with lower SEB (b = − 0.13, p < 0.001). A significant Time × SEB interaction indicated that the effect of SEB on children’s BMI increased in response to lockdowns, especially in post_LDII(b = − 0.05, p = 0.006). Results suggest that the COVID-19-related measures lead to increased BMI in children, and that children of lower SEB were at particular risk for higher BMIs following lockdowns.Conclusions: These findings highlight the dependency of children’s BMI on societal circumstances. Over the course of two lockdowns in Germany, children have experienced BMI increments, particularly in low socioeconomic areas. Authorities are called into action to counteract increasing rates of childhood weight by promoting physical activity of children and establishing related post-pandemic offers.