A groundbreaking study published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A reveals that a novel approach combining brain stimulation with personalized coaching has significantly increased physical activity among older adults. This innovative program, which showed sustained results over several months, offers promising news for seniors living in subsidized housing who often face multiple barriers to becoming more active, such as depression and a lack of motivation.
Regular physical activity is recognized as a highly effective and safe method to improve health, particularly in older adults. However, more than 85% of individuals aged 65 and above consistently fail to meet federal physical activity guidelines, contributing to a global health challenge. The study’s findings highlight a potential solution to this pervasive issue.
Study Details and Key Findings
In a randomized trial, researchers discovered that inactive seniors who received transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) — a noninvasive technique delivering low-level electrical currents to specific brain areas — along with individualized behavioral coaching, increased their daily step count by an average of 1,179 steps per day. This increase is more than double that of participants who received coaching with placebo stimulation. Remarkably, this improvement persisted for three months post-intervention, with high adherence rates to both the stimulation and coaching components.
Participants in the tDCS group completed 97% of the brain stimulation sessions and 93% of the coaching sessions, demonstrating strong engagement with the program.
The tDCS sessions, delivered in 10 brief 20-minute intervals over two weeks, targeted the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a brain region linked to motivation, planning, and goal-directed behavior. Complementing this, a personalized behavioral program continued for two months, facilitated by physical therapists through regular phone check-ins, individualized step goals, and practical strategies such as marching during TV commercials or walking with friends. Daily steps were tracked using Fitbits, with monitoring extending 12 weeks beyond the intervention.
Implications for Older Adults
The implications of these findings are significant, particularly for older adults at high risk of inactivity-related decline. Beyond physical improvements, participants reported enhanced motivation and a greater perceived ability to walk. This suggests that tDCS may not only boost the drive to move but also reinforce lasting behavioral changes when paired with accessible, goal-oriented coaching.
While tDCS has been previously explored in clinical settings to enhance mood, memory, and motor function, this study is among the first to apply it to real-world health behavior changes in older adults, especially those with limited resources. The intervention, conducted entirely within participants’ housing facilities, effectively eliminated access barriers, offering a potential model for future community-based programs.
“Helping older adults build and maintain healthy habits is notoriously difficult, especially in underserved communities,” said Dr. On-Yee (Amy) Lo, assistant scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research. “This study provides early but exciting evidence that a short course of brain stimulation can ‘prime the pump’ — enhancing motivation and helping new behaviors stick.”
Future Directions and Research Needs
The study’s authors emphasize the necessity of larger trials to confirm these findings and explore how tDCS might amplify other behavioral health programs. They also highlight the importance of examining how factors such as cognitive function, baseline activity levels, and social support might influence outcomes.
For now, this research offers a hopeful perspective and a potential new strategy for encouraging and sustaining physical activity among older adults. The study, titled Modulating Brain Activity to Improve Goal-directed Physical Activity in Older Adults: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, is published in the June 2025 issue of The Journals of Gerontology: Series A.
About the Researchers and Hebrew SeniorLife
The research team included Levi Ask, Melike Kahya, PT, PhD, assistant professor of physical therapy at High Point University; Thomas Travison, PhD, senior scientist at the Marcus Institute; Lewis Lipsitz, MD, director of the Marcus Institute and chief academic officer at Hebrew SeniorLife; and Brad Manor, PhD, senior scientist at the Marcus Institute.
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a leader in senior services, dedicated to redefining the possibilities of aging. Serving over 4,500 seniors daily across Greater Boston, the organization also conducts influential research into aging through the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research.
