Kinestesia: A neuroplasticity-based cognitive-motor intervention for brain health in aging-proof-of-concept pilot evidence.

BACKGROUND

Cognitive and functional decline in older adults poses a growing global health challenge. In the absence of curative pharmacological treatments for dementia, non-pharmacological strategies combining physical and cognitive stimulation are increasingly prioritised. Simultaneous cognitive-motor training is theoretically grounded in the interdependence of motor and cognitive networks and has shown promise in meta-analytic evidence, yet scalable, neuroplasticity-coherent platforms designed from first principles remain scarce.

OBJECTIVES

To describe the conceptual architecture, neurophysiological rationale, and neuroplasticity-based design principles of Kinestesia, and to report preliminary feasibility and proof-of-concept data from an uncontrolled pilot study in older adults with and without Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).

METHODS

Twenty-two older adults (11 cognitively healthy, 11 MCI) completed 30 sessions (3 × /week, 10 weeks) of Kinestesia, a therapeutic videogame platform integrating full-body kinematic interaction with progressive cognitive-motor demands structured around six established neuroplasticity principles. Outcomes included neuropsychological assessment (NEUROPSI Atención y Memoria), functional walking capacity (6-Minute Walk Test), balance and gait (Tinetti, TUG), within-platform learning trajectories, and Spearman correlations between game learning indices and clinical change scores.

RESULTS

Adherence was 100%, and satisfaction was uniformly high. Both subgroups showed significant pre-to-post improvements in delayed memory, executive functions, and functional walking capacity, with predominantly large effect sizes (d = 0.5-1.4). Within-platform learning was systematic across games (≥80% of participants improving per game). Spearman correlations revealed that learning in foundational locomotor games (Double Steps, Follow Tiles) predicted clinical cognitive gains most robustly in the combined sample, supporting a cognitive-motor scaffolding hypothesis.

CONCLUSIONS

Kinestesia demonstrated feasibility and preliminary proof-of-concept as a scalable, affordable, neuroplasticity-grounded cognitive-motor intervention for healthy aging. All findings are hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in adequately powered randomised controlled trials with active comparators.