JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Recent studies indicate that exercise-related games can improve executive function, attention processing, and visuospatial skills.

Objective:

This study investigates whether exercise with exergame can improve the executive function in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods:

Twenty-two MetS patients were recruited and randomly assigned to the exergame group (EXG) and treadmill group. The reaction time (RT) and electrophysiological signal from the frontal (Fz), central (Cz), and parietal (Pz) cortex were collected during a Stroop task after 12 weeks’ exercise.

Results:

During the Stroop congruence (facilitation) judgment task, both EXG and TEG showed significantly faster RT after 12 weeks of exercise training. For N200 amplitude, EXG significantly increased on Fz and Cz. These changes were significantly larger in EXG than TEG. For P300 amplitude, EXG significantly increased on Fz, Cz, and Pz, while TEG significantly increased on Cz and Pz only. During the Stroop incongruence (interference) judgment task, both EXG and TEG showed significantly faster RT. For P300 amplitude, EXG significantly increased on Fz and Cz only, while TEG significantly increased on Fz, Cz, and Pz.

Conclusions:

Exergaming improves executive function in patients with MetS as much as normal aerobic exercise. Particularly, the unique benefit of the exergame beyond increased aerobic capacity is the improvement of selective attention among cognitive functions. Thus, exergaming could be recommended to someone who needs to improve brain responses of concentration and judgment as well as physical fitness.