TY  - JOUR
AU  - Tung, Heng-Hsin
AU  - Kuo, Chen-Yuan
AU  - Lee, Pei-Lin
AU  - Chang, Chih-Wen
AU  - Chou, Kun-Hsien
AU  - Lin, Ching-Po
AU  - Chen, Liang-Kung
PY  - 2024
DA  - 2024/7/30
TI  - Efficacy of Digital Dance on Brain Imagery, Cognition, and Health: Randomized Controlled Trial
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e57694
VL  - 26
KW  - digital
KW  - somatosensory dance
KW  - somatosensory game
KW  - cognitive performance
KW  - physical function
KW  - resilience
KW  - demoralization
KW  - quality of life
KW  - dance
KW  - dancer
KW  - dancing
KW  - movement
KW  - sport
KW  - sports
KW  - cognitive
KW  - cognition
KW  - brain
KW  - neuroscience
KW  - image
KW  - imagery
KW  - imaging
KW  - RCT
KW  - randomized
KW  - controlled trial
KW  - controlled trials
KW  - somatosensory
KW  - gerontology
KW  - geriatric
KW  - geriatrics
KW  - older adult
KW  - older adults
KW  - elder
KW  - elderly
KW  - older person
KW  - older people
KW  - ageing
KW  - aging
KW  - aged
KW  - game
KW  - games
KW  - gaming
AB  - Background: Multidomain interventions have demonstrable benefits for promoting healthy aging, but self-empowerment strategies to sustain long-term gains remain elusive. Objective: This study evaluated the effects of digital somatosensory dance game participation on brain imagery changes as primary outcomes and other physical and mental health measures as secondary outcomes related to healthy aging. Methods: Between August 31, 2020, and June 27, 2021, this randomized controlled trial recruited 60 eligible participants older than 55 years with no recent engagement in digital dance games. A computer-generated randomization sequence was used to allocate participants 1:1, without stratification, to an intervention group (n=30) who underwent digital somatosensory dance game training or a control group (n=30). An anonymized code masked the intervention allocations from the investigators, and individuals who assigned the interventions were not involved in analyzing the study data. The intervention entailed two 30-minute dance game sessions per week for 6 months, and the control group received healthy aging education. Primary outcomes were brain imagery changes. All variables were measured at baseline and the 6-month follow-up, and intervention effects were estimated using t tests with intention-to-treat analyses. Results: Compared with the control group, intervention participants had significantly different brain imagery in the gray matter volume (GMV) of the left putamen (estimate 0.016, 95% CI 0.008 to 0.024; P<.001), GMV of the left pallidum (estimate 0.02, 95% CI 0.006 to 0.034; P=.004), and fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations of the left pallidum (estimate 0.262, 95% CI 0.084 to 0.439; P=.004). Additionally, the intervention group had different imagery in the cerebellum VI GMV (estimate 0.011, 95% CI 0.003 to 0.02; P=.01). The intervention group also had improved total Montreal Cognitive Assessment scores (estimate 1.2, 95% CI 0.27 to −2.13; P<.01), quality of life (estimate 7.08, 95% CI 2.35 to 11.82; P=.004), and time spent sitting on weekdays (estimate −1.96, 95% CI −3.33 to −0.60; P=.005). Furthermore, dance performance was significantly associated with cognitive performance (P=.003), health status (P=.14), resilience (P=.007), and demoralization (P<.001). Conclusions: Digital somatosensory dance game participation for 6 months was associated with brain imagery changes in multiple regions involving somatosensory, motor, visual, and attention functions, which were consistent with phenotypic improvements associated with healthy aging. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05411042; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05411042 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e57694
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/57694
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39078687
DO  - 10.2196/57694
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/57694
ER  -