Effectiveness of Brain Gaming in Older Adults With Cognitive Impairments: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Sandra L Kletzel, Pallavi Sood, Ahmed Negm and 5 others
PMID 34146517WHAT IT FOUND
Brain games did not improve cognitive function, memory, daily activities, or quality of life in older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
The trials varied widely, so this does not prove all brain games are ineffective.
Key findings
01Across 14 studies, brain gaming did not significantly improve global cognitive function compared with control interventions.
02Brain gaming did not significantly improve memory or executive function.
03Subgroup analyses did not show that dementia benefited more than mild cognitive impairment, or that more intense use produced a significant difference.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The included trials varied widely in games, participants, control groups, dose, setting, and outcome measures. Only 8 of 16 trials specified how participants were randomized, and blinding of participants, staff, and outcome assessors was mostly unclear or low risk. Many trials were small, short, or pilot studies, so they may not detect modest effects. Two studies included in the systematic review were excluded from the meta-analysis because the authors could not retrieve the needed data. The language result came from 3 studies with 96% heterogeneity, so it is unstable. The review excluded immersive or semi-immersive virtual reality games, non-computer games, and multimodal interventions, so findings do not apply to those approaches.
Declared interests
All authors declared no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the language result as evidence that brain games improve language. It was not statistically significant, and the studies behind it disagreed strongly.