Acute effects of 2D exergame on cognitive functions and frontal cortical activity

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the effect of an exercise with a 2D virtual reality session on the cognition and cortical activity of young males. This is a randomized controlled trial with ten men aged 18 to 23 years. They were randomly assigned under two conditions: 1) exercise session with 2D virtual reality games and 2) control, which consisted of watching a two-episode video of a comic TV show. Cognition and frontal cortical activity were assessed immediately before and after the intervention, using the Mindset, performing the Digit Span Test, semantic verbal fluency, and executive function. Executive function improved with the exergame session (p=0.025). Exergames partially promote an immediate increase in the executive function of young people.