The cognitive and cognitive-motor training contribution to the improvement of different aspects of executive functions in healthy adults aged 65 years and above-A randomized controlled trial.

Aims: The study aimed at examining the effectiveness of cognitive-motor dual-task and single-task cognitive training on executive and attention functions in participants over 65 years of age.

Methods: The study comprised 68 participants. They were randomly assigned to dual-task cognitive-motor training (DTT), single-task cognitive training (STT) or a control group (C). The training program in all groups encompassed 4 weeks and consisted of three, 30-min meetings a week. Specialized software was designed for the purposes of the study. Both before and after the training, the cognitive functioning was assessed using: Color Trials Test, Ruff Figural Fluency Test, Wisconsin Sorting Card Test, Digit Span, Verbal Fluency Test, Stroop Color-Word Test.

Results: After the cognitive-motor training, improvement was achieved in the control and inhibition of reactions. Moreover, after the cognitive training, improvements in abstract thinking and categorization were reported.

Conclusion: Despite the small sample limitation, the preliminary result shows each form of the training supports a different aspect of executive functions but does not contribute to the improvement in attention.