Study’s ‘cyberbikes’ tone elderly brains

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — Exercising with an interactive computer game improved brain function among the elderly in a small study by researchers at Union College and Skidmore College.

Senior citizens that road “cyberbikes” - stationary cycles that had a computer display showing 3-D roads and a virtual competitor - saw a 23 percent decrease in the risk of cognitive problems, according to the study that appeared Jan. 27 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

“The main surprise was that even though there was similar effort expended, there was something special about the cybercycle condition that led to this significantly greater cognitive benefit,” said Cay Anderson-Hanley, a psychologist at Union College.

Data were collected from 2008 to 2010. Anderson-Hanley cautioned that the research needs to be replicated with a larger sample of volunteers. Of the 102 older adults from eight retirement communities who enrolled, 79 senior citizens from the Albany, N.Y., area made up the study’s test group; 63 of them completed the study.

The volunteers exercised on recumbent bicycles three times a week for three months, burning an average of 100 calories each ride. Half of the group rode “cyberbikes,”while the control group rode machines with no virtual reality display.

There was no difference in exercise intensity, frequency or duration between the groups, according to the study. The average age of the control group, 82, was slightly higher than the cyberbike group, 76, however the analysis adjusted for age and education level.

Both groups saw improvements in blood pressure and leg strength, but the cyberbikers scored better on tests of memory, attention and executive brain function. Three cybercyclists progressed to “mild cognitive impairment” compared to nine in the control group.

In blood tests, the cybercyclists also had better levels of a biomarker called brain derived neurotrophic growth factor, which is believed to be an indicator of brain health.

“For the same relative amount and intensity of exercise, there was something very unique and beneficial about the cybercycle,” said Paul J. Arciero, an exercise physiologist at Skidmore College.

Earlier research has found that exercise and brain teasers done separately might improve cognitive function, but Anderson-Hanley said outcomes from this study exceeded results of the two others combined.