Effects of the Combined Cognitive Training and Aerobic Exercise on Cognition, Physiological Markers, Daily Function, and Quality of Life in Stroke Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment

Cognitive impairment is not uncommon after stroke. Stroke patients with cognitive decline may experience difficulties in learning motor tasks, functional disability, and poor quality of life. Interventions for cognitive impairment remain under development and pharmaceutical intervention is not yet optimal at present. Targeted cognitive treatments or aerobic exercise training provided potential benefits to enhance cognitive function for stroke patients with cognitive decline. Recent studies demonstrate that combining exercise and cognitive training may provide additional benefits on cognition than single type of training. However, physical exercise training and cognitive-based intervention can be combined either sequentially or simultaneously. It remains unclear whether the two combination methods induce similar or differential effects in brain plasticity, physiological modulation, and behavioral outcomes for individuals with stroke. It is important to examine the potential effects, comparative effects and the neural mechanism of two combined interventions that can possibly maximize benefits for stroke survivors with cognitive impairments. The purposes of the present study are to: (1) examine and compare the effects of two combined interventions on brain plasticity, physiological biomarkers and behavioral outcomes, including cognitive, physical, and daily functions, and quality of life, from pre- to post-training; (2) understand the neural mechanisms of cognitive recovery following two combined interventions using the electroencephalography (EEG); (3) examine the long-term benefits following the two combined interventions; (4) to identify the correlations between brain activity, biomarkers and behavioral measures.