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

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.

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.