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To investigate if older populations with clinically diagnosed cognitive impairments associated with fine-motor skills difficulties could measurably benefit from a short cognitive training intervention.

38 elderly participants, half with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and half with mild dementia (MD) completed a total of 36 sessions of NeuroTracker training. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) test was used to assess the baseline cognitive status, and two batteries of manual motor skills assessments completed before and after the training program.

The results showed clear and significant post-training improvements in both manual dexterity tests. Analysis indicated that only 90-minutes of NeuroTracker training was needed to achieve these benefits with these populations. The researchers concluded that this type of intervention could have a broad impact on the aging population in terms of their daily quality of life.

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To investigate the relationship with NeuroTracker baselines and soccer player performance metrics across two professional seasons.

11 professional Greek soccer players from two major Super League football clubs completed a 6-min single NeuroTracker session baseline. Soccer-specific competition performance metrics were collected using the Wyscout analytics platform, including: team is winning/losing, actions with/without a yellow card, dribbles, through passes, forward passes, and assists.

Statistical analysis revealed NeuroTracker baseline score significantly correlated to actions when team is winning/losing, total actions without a yellow card, through passes, forward passes, and assists. The researchers suggest that such baselines could play a crucial and practical role in evaluating soccer players’ performance when under the demands of professional competition.

Several studies have shown that aerobic exercise can slow age-related cognitive decline, and in some cases, improve cognitive function in the older population. The purpose of this study was to investigate for the first time, the effects of resistance training on cognitive function, as measured by changes in NeuroTracker measures.

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25 older adults with a mean age of 70yrs were split into a trained group (6 weeks of resistance exercises), and an untrained group. Perceptual-cognitive ability was measured pre and post training using NeuroTracker baselines.

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The older adults who performed six weeks of resistance training experienced significant improvements in perceptual-cognitive function as measured by NeuroTracker. Resistance training may therefore be an effective means to slow age related cognitive decline.

This paper covers foundational concepts of NeuroTracker’s relevance to training of cognitive capacities deemed critical in sports performance, particularly in dynamic team-sports. It also contains a study investigating the effects of attentional loads in learning paradigms, with the aim of understanding optimal load conditions for training perceptual-cognitive ability.

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4 elite professional sports teams trained their athletes on NeuroTracker (15-30 sessions) during their competition seasons. An English Premier Team club, a National Hockey League team, and a European Rugby team were all trained in the standard sitting down position to isolate any influence from attentional mechanisms involved in posture control. Another NHL team performed the training in standing position, involving basic balance demands on attention.

Taking the statistical average for learning progression on NeuroTracker, the three professional sports teams training in sitting position showed near identical progression, with rapid early learning slowing down towards longer term but continued learning. The standing sports team showed much lower NeuroTracker scores, but more importantly slower overall learning progression, with a large magnitude of difference to the other teams. The findings clearly demonstrate the link between balance control mechanisms and perceptual-cognitive demands solicited by NeuroTracker training. This demonstrates that cognitive training loads need to be sensitively optimized to attentional thresholds in order to generate effective short and longer term learning adaptations.

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To examine the effects of a high intensity intermittent exercise (HIIE) protocol on performance with a perceptual-cognitive task (NeuroTracker), and whether effects differ between children, young adults, and older adults.

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12 children, 12 young adults and 12 older adults completed a HIIE program consisting of eleven 30-second intervals at 90% VO2 max, interspersed with 2-minute active recovery periods at 50% VO2max. Before and during this exercise protocol, three sessions of NeuroTracker task were performed at 5, 15, and 25 minute intervals.

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Young adults had significantly higher absolute NeuroTracker scores than children and older adults. Apart children, NeuroTracker scores improved each session, despite the exercise demands (greatest for young adults). The findings suggest that intensive exercise protocols are suitable to be combined with NeuroTracker cognitive training with younger and older adults, but not with children.

To compare the learning efficiency 3D-MOT (NeuroTracker) with 2D-MOT, and investigate whether any advantages can be reflected by heart rate variability (HRV).

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26 female U15 soccer players completed the 2D- and 3D-MOT tasks with the order reversed for half of the participants. HRV measures were recorded live during the training.

The female soccer players displayed higher learning efficiency in the 3D-MOT task than in the 2D-MOT. HRV analysis revealed that the training had some stimulation associated with inducing flow states in 2D, but that this effect was significantly greater with 3D-MOT. The researchers concluded that this study highlights the role of flow experience in the utility and applicability of 3D-MOT in soccer sport.

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To combine several tests known to assess driving fitness and propose a methodology to bring these together under a single index termed the ‘Driver’s Safety Index’.

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115 licensed drivers between the ages of 18 and 86 were separated into two groups: 64 young participants (average age of 29 years), and 51 older participants (average age of 77 years). Each participant was assessed on three different experimental phases. 1. Visual tests: visual acuity test (V1), stereoscopic vision test (V2), and a binocular visual field test (V3). 2. Simulator driving tests across 3 difficulty based scenarios: highway (low), rural (medium) and city (high). 3. NeuroTracker as a visuo-cognitive test. A wide range of driving performance metrics from the simulator test were analyzed for correlations with the visual tests, age, and NeuroTracker scores.

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There were limited correlations between driving performance and the visual tests. High NeuroTracker scores correlated strongly with high driving performance, and low scores with low driving performance, along with a strong relationship for crash risk. NeuroTracker scores were also a better predictor of driving performance than age. Driving abilities are strongly associated with NeuroTracker scores. These findings highlight the importance of visuo-cognitive abilities in the assessment of driving abilities. This study paves the way toward a single, common indicator of driving behaviour. The study authors recommend that NeuroTracker should be a component in the battery of tests for obtaining or renewing a driving license.

To examine if NeuroTracker training transfers to useful field of view (UFOV) performance, a measure strongly associated with driving performance.

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Twenty healthy young adults between the ages of 23 and 33 years were recruited and evenly assigned to either a NeuroTracker training program or active control group using a math game (2048). Both groups completed 5 hours of training distributed over 5 weeks. Both groups completed pre-post standardized assessments of UFOV.

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The NeuroTracker training group exhibited significantly improved UFOV performance, whereas the active control group showed only a small, statistically nonsignificant improvement in the task. The researchers suggest that NeuroTracker and UFOV performance are likely dependent on overlapping cognitive abilities, and that these abilities can be trained and measured in young adults which could lead to improving driving safety.

To investigate the feasibility of using a remote therapeutic cognitive intervention for brain injury survivors using an at-home training program.

20 older female and male adults were assessed for cognitive health status using a self-report questionnaire and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and deemed cognitively healthy. The at-home participants were provided with NeuroTracker training and completed 20 training sessions over 5 weeks. Participant recruitment, retention, adherence, and experience were used as markers of feasibility. Individual session scores, overall improvement, and learning rates between groups was also assessed.

The remote intervention was found to have strong feasibility overall. This was supported by high recruitment and retention, 90% participant adherence, along with ease of use of the program. Differences in screen size and 3D technology showed no differences on cognitive benefits achieved from training, with significant improvements in task performance across the program, which was also equivalent to lab-based training. The researchers concluded that NeuroTracker provides a promising at-home option for cognitive training for cognitively healthy adults and brain injury survivors.