Evaluation of the Effects of Serious Cognitive Games on a Digital Tactile Table for Elderly People with Alzheimer's Disease or Related Disorders

Alzheimer's disease and related disorders are chronic, progressive diseases that have a major impact on the lives of sufferers and their families. They lead to a decline in cognitive function and are associated with a loss of independence and quality of life for sufferers. The loss of autonomy associated with major cognitive disorders can lead to feelings of worthlessness and loss of self-esteem. People may feel sad, depressed and, above all, very anxious. When this anxiety is linked to relationships with others, it can become major social anxiety, which aggravates the negative feelings and contributes to the deleterious progression of the neurodegenerative disease. Feelings of low self-esteem and/or the anxiety that accompanies them cannot be treated solely by long-term psychotropic drugs, as these can worsen the disorders through iatrogenesis. In this context, non-drug approaches can be seen as an essential complement.

Cognition-based therapies, including cognitive stimulation, are based on a neuroeducational approach that can be deployed at different stages of the disease, either individually or in groups. Other patient-centred cognitive stimulation techniques have also been developed. In recent years, research has focused on serious digital games, which seem to combine rehabilitation possibilities in a playful form, making it easier for patients to adhere to them. They can also be used to work on motor skills, spatial reference, reflexes and speed and potentially improve verbal and non-verbal learning. Several recent meta-analyses have shown that brain games are an innovative and potentially effective approach to cognitive training for elderly people with cognitive disorders.

Based on the existing literature, experimenting with a serious digital cognitive game could potentially produce beneficial results by improving parameters such as self-esteem and anxiety in patients with early or moderate Alzheimer's disease or a related illness. As part of their weekly cognitive stimulation programme at the day hospital, they plan to use the interactive digital table 'Le Village' ©, which can be used to offer fun exercises on working memory, semantic memory, explicit memory and sensory memory, with game objectives focusing on reaction, reminiscence and dexterity. The digital table simulates a village, allowing 6 people to play simultaneously and interact. This digital table can be used for individual or group sessions.