The cognitive and cognitive-motor training contribution to the improvement of different aspects of executive functions in healthy adults aged 65 years and above—A randomized controlled trial

Aims The study aimed at examining the effectiveness of cognitive-motor dual-task and single-task cognitive training on executive and attention functions in participants over 65 years of age.Methods The study comprised 68 participants. They were randomly assigned to dual-task cognitive-motor training (DTT), single-task cognitive training (STT) or a control group (C). The training program in all groups encompassed 4 weeks and consisted of three, 30-min meetings a week. Specialized software was designed for the purposes of the study. Both before and after the training, the cognitive functioning was assessed using: Color Trials Test, Ruff Figural Fluency Test, Wisconsin Sorting Card Test, Digit Span, Verbal Fluency Test, Stroop Color-Word Test.Results After the cognitive-motor training, improvement was achieved in the control and inhibition of reactions. Moreover, after the cognitive training, improvements in abstract thinking and categorization were reported.Conclusion Despite the small sample limitation, the preliminary result shows each form of the training supports a different aspect of executive functions but does not contribute to the improvement in attention.