Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32803232›Full record

ArticleThe journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences2021

Synergistic Effects of Cognitive Training and Physical Exercise on Dual-Task Performance in Older Adults.

Louis Bherer, Christine Gagnon, Antoine Langeard, Maxime Lussier, Laurence Desjardins-Crépeau, Nicolas Berryman, Laurent Bosquet, Thien Tuong Minh Vu, Sarah Fraser, Karen Z H Li and 1 more

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06598163 (Efficacy of a Digital Health App Five Lives MED to Improve Cognitive Function in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment), which is not on this map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.7field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06598163 narecruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation

Efficacy of a Digital Health App Five Lives MED to Improve Cognitive Function in Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment: a Randomised Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorSharpTxRan2025 to 2026Enrolled170ConditionsMild Cognitive ImpairmentArmsFive Lives MED
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Combining transcranial electrical stimulation with training in older adults: Effects on dual-task ability.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026
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  10. A Comparison of the Effect of Physical Activity and Cognitive Training on Dual-Task Performance in Older Adults.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2022
    Trial
  11. Trial
  12. Review
  13. Differential Transfer Effects Across Tasks in Younger and Older Adults Following Executive Function Training.Journal of cognitive enhancement : towards the integration of theory and practice · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 8 institutions in 3 countries.

Louis BhererDepartment of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Christine GagnonResearch Center, Montreal Heart Institute, Québec, Canada.
Antoine LangeardResearch Center, Montreal Heart Institute, Québec, Canada.ORCID 0000-0001-5284-2435
Maxime LussierResearch Center, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Laurence Desjardins-CrépeauResearch Center, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Nicolas BerrymanResearch Center, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Laurent BosquetLaboratory MOVE (EA 6314), Faculty of Sport Sciences, University of Poitiers, France.
Thien Tuong Minh VuDepartment of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Sarah FraserInterdisciplinary School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Karen Z H LiPERFORM Centre and Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Québec, Canada.
Arthur F KramerBeckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Boston, Massachusetts.
Montreal Heart Institute · CAInstitut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal · CABishop's University · CACentre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal · CAConcordia University · CANortheastern University · USUniversité de Poitiers · FRUniversity of Ottawa · CA

Funding

CIHR 187596
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundStudies report benefits of physical exercise and cognitive training to enhance cognition in older adults. However, most studies did not compare these interventions to appropriate active controls. Moreover, physical exercise and cognitive training seem to involve different mechanisms of brain plasticity, suggesting a potential synergistic effect on cognition.

objectiveThis study investigated the synergistic effect of cognitive training and aerobic/resistance physical exercise on dual-task performance in older adults. Intervention effects were compared to active controls for both the cognitive and the exercise domain.

methodEighty-seven older adults completed one of 4 different combinations of interventions, in which computer lessons was active control for cognitive training and stretching/toning exercise control for aerobic/resistance training: (a) cognitive dual-task training and aerobic/resistance training (COG+/AER+), (b) computer lessons and aerobic/resistance training (COG-/AER+), (c) cognitive dual-task training and stretching/toning exercises (COG+/AER-), and (d) computer lessons and stretching/toning exercises (COG-/AER-). The primary outcome was performance in an untrained transfer dual task. Stepwise backward removal regression analyses were used to predict pre- versus post-test changes in groups that have completed the dual-task training, aerobic/resistance or both interventions.

resultsParticipation in AER+ did not predict improvement in any dual-task outcomes. Participation in COG+ predicted reduction in dual-task cost and participation in COG+/AER+ predicted reduction in task-set cost. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that the combination of cognitive and physical training protocols exerted a synergistic effect on task-set cost which reflects the cost of maintaining multiple response alternatives, whereas cognitive training specifically improved dual-task cost, which reflects the ability of synchronizing concurrent tasks.

Indexed as

Cognitive RemediationExercise TherapyAgedAged, 80 and overAttentionCombined Modality TherapyExecutive FunctionExerciseFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPsychomotor PerformanceResistance TrainingTransfer, PsychologyCognitive trainingCombined interventionDivided attentionDual-task abilitiesPhysical exercise

Identifiers

PMID32803232
PMCPMC8436698
OpenAlexW3053084365

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.