Can physical and cognitive training based on episodic memory be combined in a new protocol for daily training?

Background: Cognitive training (CT) is defined as guided practice on a set of standard tasks designed to stimulate particular cognitive functions. Recent studies have shown that physical exercise is beneficial for cognitive activity in older adults and patients with degenerative diseases. Aims: The main objective of the present study is to create a new cognitive tool able to provide training for cognitive functions that take advantage of the physical activity involved in the execution of the task. A study concerning the application of a new CT tool for episodic memory is presented and divided in two parts. The first one aims at developing a new sensorized device, called SmartTapestry, for physical and cognitive training. The second part aims at understanding its technical viability and level of sensitivity in stimulating the same cognitive domain covered by the standardized tests, despite the introduction of the physical activity variable. Methods: The SmartTapestry device was tested with a total of 53 subjects, 29 healthy subjects and 24 subjects suffering from mild cognitive impairment. Results and discussions: The results show a good correlation between the two approaches (p < 0.005), suggesting that SmartTapestry can stimulate the same cognitive functions of traditional cognitive tasks, with the addition of physical exercise. Conclusions: The results of this study may be useful in designing ecological and combined cognitive-physical tools, which can be used daily at home, reducing the presence of clinical staff, to train at the same time the brain and the body so as to improve the cognitive treatments efficacy.