Study of the Cognitive and Neurophysiological Effects of the Activ4Brain Program for Older Adults

NCT ID: NCT07108413

Last Updated: 2025-08-07

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

72 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-01-01

Study Completion Date

2025-03-30

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

This study aims to examine the cognitive, neuronal, and physical effects of the Activ4Brain program in older men and women between 55 and 75 years of age. The program Activ4Brain consists of 24 sessions of aerobic exercise classes (twice a week over 3 months) that include computerized games designed to train cognition. Participants are tested before and after the 3-months intervention. Researchers will study changes in cognitive function, brain and body physiological activity, and inflammation and neuroprotective markers in 3 groups of participants: the Activ4Brain group that engages in the Activ4Brain program, an active control group that engages in aerobic exercise classes and a passive control group that does not engage in any intervention.

This study aims to answer the following questions.

* Does the program Activ4Brain improve cognition in cognitively healthy older adults?
* Does the program Activ4Brain change brain function and body physiology in cognitively healthy older adults?

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Cognitive training and physical exercise hold the potential to be successful non-pharmacological treatments for age-related cognitive decline and dementia. However, existing interventions show little to no benefit for preventing or delaying cognitive decline, highlighting the need to develop alternative tools. With this in mind, the Activ4Brain program was designed as a non-pharmacological strategy to reduce the impact of age-related cognitive decline. The Activ4Brain program consists of group aerobic exercise classes where computerized games targeting different cognitive domains are applied during the session to potentiate the effect of physical exercise on cognition. This study investigates the impact of this novel program on cognitive and brain function.

The primary objective of this study is:

• Evaluation of the efficacy of the Activ4Brain program in improving cognition in older people

Secondary objectives are:

* Evaluation of the impact of the Activ4Brain program on brain and autonomic function and physical health markers
* Evaluation of participants' adherence and retention through attendance rates across all intervention sessions and participation trends over time
* Evaluation of the feasibility of the Activ4Brain program including its acceptability, accessibility, and usability.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Older People

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Activ4Brain Group

Participants in this group perform the Activ4Brain program during 3 months

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Activ4Brain Program

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The Activ4Brain Program consists of 24 sessions, twice a week for 3 months. Participants engage in 50 min exercise sessions of moderate intensity (60-80% of maximal heart rate) including 5 min warm-up, 40 min aerobic exercises, and 5 min cool-down. The warm-up period includes similar body movements as the main part of the exercise and dynamic stretching while the cool down period consists of static stretching. The main part of the exercise session is divided in four blocks. Each block consists of 5 min aerobic exercises and 5 min of cognitive training. Participants are instructed to keep moving, marching in place, while performing the cognitive training tasks to maintain the increased heart rate. Each group class is composed of four participants with as must as possible a narrow age range given the participants' schedule convenience.

Aerobic exercise group

Participants in this group perform an Aerobic Exercise program during 3 months

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Aerobic Exercise Program

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The Aerobic Exercise Program consists of 24 sessions, twice a week for 3 months. Participants engage in 50 min exercise sessions of moderate intensity (60-80% of maximal heart rate) including 5 min warm-up, 40 min aerobic exercises, and 5 min cool-down. The warm-up period includes similar body movements as the main part of the exercise and dynamic stretching while the cool down period consists of static stretching. The main part of the exercise session consists of a sequence of four different 5 min blocks of aerobic exercise repeated twice. Each block consists of a combination of three different rhythmic movements. Each group class is composed of four participants.

Control group

Participants in this group receive no intervention during the study and are instructed to carry on their daily routines.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Activ4Brain Program

The Activ4Brain Program consists of 24 sessions, twice a week for 3 months. Participants engage in 50 min exercise sessions of moderate intensity (60-80% of maximal heart rate) including 5 min warm-up, 40 min aerobic exercises, and 5 min cool-down. The warm-up period includes similar body movements as the main part of the exercise and dynamic stretching while the cool down period consists of static stretching. The main part of the exercise session is divided in four blocks. Each block consists of 5 min aerobic exercises and 5 min of cognitive training. Participants are instructed to keep moving, marching in place, while performing the cognitive training tasks to maintain the increased heart rate. Each group class is composed of four participants with as must as possible a narrow age range given the participants' schedule convenience.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Aerobic Exercise Program

The Aerobic Exercise Program consists of 24 sessions, twice a week for 3 months. Participants engage in 50 min exercise sessions of moderate intensity (60-80% of maximal heart rate) including 5 min warm-up, 40 min aerobic exercises, and 5 min cool-down. The warm-up period includes similar body movements as the main part of the exercise and dynamic stretching while the cool down period consists of static stretching. The main part of the exercise session consists of a sequence of four different 5 min blocks of aerobic exercise repeated twice. Each block consists of a combination of three different rhythmic movements. Each group class is composed of four participants.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

• Men and women between 55 and 75 years of age

Exclusion Criteria

* Presence of contraindications for physical exercise screened with the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q)
* Presence of objective cognitive impairment screened with the Addenbroke's Cognitive Examination - Revised, which also incorporates the Mini Mental State Examination, providing a double score
* Presence of high fall risk screened with the Timed Up and Go test (TUG)
* Presence of severe neurological or psychiatric conditions
Minimum Eligible Age

55 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

75 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

University of Coimbra

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Maria Ribeiro

Principal Investigator

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Maria J Ribeiro, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

CIBIT-ICNAS, University of Coimbra, Portugal

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

University of Coimbra

Coimbra, , Portugal

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Portugal

Related Links

Access external resources that provide additional context or updates about the study.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569014774373

social media page of the Activ4Brain program

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

Activ4Brain

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.