Aerobic Exercise with Superimposed Virtual Reality Improves Cognitive Flexibility and Selective Attention in Young Males

Abstract

The literature to date is limited regarding the implantation of VR in healthy young individuals with a focus on cognitive function. Thirty healthy males aged between 22.8 and 24.3 years volunteered to participate in the study randomly and were assigned to one of two groups with alike exercises: an experimental group (GE, n = 15) that performed an exercise protocol with a VR game and a controlled group that performed the exercise protocol without the VR (CON, n = 15). A 128-card computerized version of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) and the Stroop test were completed before and after the exercise protocol. There was a significant interaction effect between time and condition for WCST preservation errors (F1,30 = 4.59, p = 0.041, η2p = 0.141) and a significant time effect for all WCST and Stroop outcomes in GE. Results of preliminary findings suggest that the use of a VR platform offers effective benefits with respect to cognitive flexibility and selective attention. In addition, participants can achieve additional benefits in cognitive flexibility by engaging in a traditional exercise protocol of a similar volume.

Keywords

• virtual reality
• physical exercise
• benefits
• cognitive flexibility
• attention
• young males