Aerobic Exercise and Video Game Training in Older Adults
An Open Dataset for Combined Aerobic Exercise and Video Game Intervention in Older Adults
Structural and resting-state functional brain MRI of healthy community-dwelling older adults before and after a 16-week trial of aerobic cycling, 3D video game training, both combined, or no training, with demographics and neuropsychological test scores.
Overview
This Science Data Bank record holds the imaging and test data of a trial at the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing (ChiCTR1900022702). The trial asked whether pairing aerobic exercise with a cognitively rich video game improves mnemonic discrimination in older adults more than either training alone, and which brain changes go with it. Healthy, right-handed, community-dwelling older adults were scanned before and after 16 weeks. The record was first published on 10 February 2026 and updated to version 2 on 9 March 2026. It is one of three trial datasets described together in a Scientific Data paper; the other two cover square dance and multimodal interventions.
Composition
98 participants were enrolled and allocated without randomisation to combined training (21), aerobic cycling (22), video game training (22) or a control group that kept its usual lifestyle (21), plus 12 controls who completed only the first scan. Inclusion asked for age 53 to 80, at least five years of schooling, a Mini-Mental State Examination score of 24 or more and no MRI contraindications. After quality control, 86 had two usable resting-state scans: 65 trained and 21 controls, 70 of them women, with mean ages of 63.1 (trained) and 63.3 years (controls). The release is a BIDS folder with defaced T1-weighted images and resting-state fMRI per session, MRIQC reports and conversion code, plus a spreadsheet with group, time point, age, sex, education and test scores (MoCA, digit span, paired associate learning, verbal fluency, anxiety and depression scales).
Acquisition
All scans come from one 3 T GE Discovery MR750 with an 8-channel head coil. The T1-weighted scan is a 3D sequence with 1 mm isotropic voxels. Resting-state fMRI uses echo-planar imaging with TR 2000 ms, 3.5 mm isotropic voxels and 240 volumes.
Known limitations
- Group allocation followed participant preference and schedules, so self-selection may bias group comparisons.
- Sex and age are reported only for the 86 participants with two usable scans, not for all 98.
- Use is limited to research and education by the terms file in the record, although it also names CC BY 4.0.
- One site and one population of Chinese older adults.
Cohort
Aggregate numbers from the sources below. Bars are relative to the 98 subjects.
Sex
- Female 70 100%
Covers 70 of 98 subjects.
Supplementary Table S2 in Jin et al. 2026, An open multimodal database of non-pharmacological interventions in older adults, Scientific Data (accepted manuscript) and Supplementary Tables S1 and S2
Contrast / sequence
Groups can overlap
- T1-weighted 98 100%
- BOLD fMRI 98 100%
Procedures; Figure 1 in Jin et al. 2026, An open multimodal database of non-pharmacological interventions in older adults, Scientific Data (accepted manuscript) and Supplementary Tables S1 and S2
License and access
Our reading of the license, not legal advice. Before you use the data, read the original license and confirm that your use is allowed. We take no responsibility for how you use a dataset. Full disclaimer
Download without an account
The Science Data Bank record is public and its files (COMBIDS.zip, a neuropsychological test table and DUA.pdf) download without an account. The DUA.pdf in the record sets terms that apply by downloading or using the data.
Different parts of the data carry different licenses. The summary on the right shows the most restrictive answer per rule.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Use, share and adapt the data for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you credit the creators.
What you can do
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
What you can share
- Yes
- Yes
- Yes
What you must do
- Yes
- Share alike No
- No
- No
- Manuscript review No
- Release code No
- Return results No
- Delete after use No
Limits
- No
- Location limits No
Data Usage Agreement of the non-pharmacological intervention datasets in older adults (Institute of Psychology, CAS)
Terms that users accept by downloading or using the data. They forbid re-identification, ask users to protect participant identity and to report identifying content, limit use to lawful scientific research and education, and ask for citation of the datasets. The same text states that the data are distributed under CC BY 4.0.
What you can do
- Conditional
- Not stated
- Conditional
- Yes
- Yes
What you can share
- Conditional
- Conditional
- Share trained models Not stated
What you must do
- Yes
- Share alike No
- Conditional
- Conditional
- Manuscript review No
- No
- Return results No
- Delete after use No
Limits
- Yes
- Location limits No
Citation
Jin X, Tang W, Cui X, Gui W, Li J. An Open Dataset for Combined Aerobic Exercise and Video Game Intervention in Older Adults. V2. Science Data Bank, 2026. doi:10.57760/sciencedb.psych.00866
Sources
Every number on this page comes from one of these documents. Each chart names the table or page it is taken from. The raw numbers are in stats.csv.
- Science Data Bank record 10.57760/sciencedb.psych.00866 (V2), its description, file listing and DataCite metadata website
- Jin et al. 2026, An open multimodal database of non-pharmacological interventions in older adults, Scientific Data (accepted manuscript) and Supplementary Tables S1 and S2 paper
- Cui et al. 2023, A Combined Intervention of Aerobic Exercise and Video Game in Older Adults: The Efficacy and Neural Basis on Improving Mnemonic Discrimination, Journals of Gerontology: Series A 78:1436-1444 paper