Trial reportPloS one2022
Acute effects of virtual reality treadmill training on gait and cognition in older adults: A randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Nature-based and technology-assisted exercise for cognitive and mobility outcomes in older adults: a systematic review of randomized trials.BMC geriatrics · 2026Pooled it
- The impact of walking training on cognitive function in older adults: a meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of virtual reality training on dual-task performance in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effectiveness of sensor-based interventions in improving gait and balance performance in older adults: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Pooled it
- A Body-Driven Mind: Effects of Conventional and Non-Immersive Virtual Reality-Based Physiotherapy on Cognitive Function in Older Orthopedic Patients.Clinical interventions in aging · 2026Trial
- Effect of Rehabilitation Program for Muscle Strength, Balance, and Gait Retraining with Visual Feedback in Older Women with and Without Knee Osteoarthritis: Clinical Trial.Journal of personalized medicine · 2025Article
- Effectiveness, enjoyment, and meaningfulness of a virtual reality gait-based fall prevention exergame in community-dwelling healthy older adults: an interdisciplinary pilot study.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- What are the virtual reality solutions for dual-task intervention to promote health in aging? A scoping review.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Review
- Analysis of Gait Kinematics in Smart Walker-Assisted Locomotion in Immersive Virtual Reality Scenario.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Enhancing Brain Health and Well-Being in Older Adults: Innovations in Lifestyle Interventions.Current psychiatry reports · 2024Review
- Extended reality to assess post-stroke manual dexterity: contrasts between the classic box and block test, immersive virtual reality with controllers, with hand-tracking, and mixed-reality tests.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Comparison of Exergames Versus Conventional Exercises on the Health Benefits of Older Adults: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.JMIR serious games · 2023Review
- The influence of dual-task activities on spatiotemporal gait parameters in patients with cardiovascular diseases.JRSM cardiovascular diseaseArticle
- Digital health-based physical activity and cognitive function in older adults: A bibliometric analysis.Digital healthReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionEveryday walking often involves walking with divided attention (i.e., dual-tasking). Exercise interventions for older adults should mimic these simultaneous physical and cognitive demands. This proof-of-concept study had a two-fold purpose: 1) identify acute cognitive and gait benefits of a single session of virtual reality treadmill training (VRTT), relative to conventional treadmill training (CTT), and 2) identify differences between those who reduced dual-task costs (i.e., responders) on gait or cognition and those who did not, after the session.
methodsSixty older adults were randomized to complete a single 30-minute session of VRTT (n = 30, 71.2±6.5 years, 22 females) or CTT (n = 30, 72.0±7.7 years, 21 females). Pre- and post-exercise session, participants performed single-task walking, single-task cognitive, and dual-task walking trials while gait and cognition were recorded. Gait variables were gait speed and gait speed variability. Cognition variables were response reaction time, response accuracy, and cognitive throughput. Dual-task effects (DTE) on gait and cognition variables were also calculated.
resultsPost-exercise, there were no group differences (all p>0.05). During single- and dual-task trials, both groups walked faster (single-task: F(1, 58) = 9.560, p = 0.003; dual-task: F(1, 58) = 19.228, p<0.001), responded more quickly (single-task: F(1, 58) = 5.054, p = 0.028; dual-task: F(1, 58) = 8.543, p = 0.005), and reduced cognitive throughput (single-task: F(1, 58) = 6.425, p = 0.014; dual-task: F(1, 58) = 28.152, p<0.001). Both groups also exhibited reduced DTE on gait speed (F(1, 58) = 8.066, p = 0.006), response accuracy (F(1, 58) = 4.123, p = 0.047), and cognitive throughput (F(1, 58) = 6.807, p = 0.012). Gait responders and non-responders did not differ (all p>0.05), but cognitive responders completed fewer years of education (t(58) = 2.114, p = 0.039) and better information processing speed (t(58) = -2.265, p = 0.027) than cognitive non-responders.
conclusionsThe results indicate that both VRTT and CTT may acutely improve gait and cognition. Therefore, older adults will likely benefit from participating in either type of exercise. The study also provides evidence that baseline cognition can impact training effects on DTE on cognition.
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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.