For adults over the age of 60, managing multiple tasks at once—like following a recipe while holding a conversation or navigating traffic while listening to GPS directions—is an essential component of maintaining personal independence. To discover how older individuals can protect and sharpen these vital cognitive skills, researchers at Rutgers Health have officially launched the MUltitasking STrategy Training Study (MUST Study).
Funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging, the randomized controlled trial is actively recruiting cognitively healthy participants between the ages of 60 and 75 through mid-2027.
The five-to-six-month study seeks to determine whether a targeted, online cognitive training program can successfully strengthen attention control and executive functions, which naturally decline as part of the biological aging process.
To test these parameters, Rutgers researchers developed a practical digital tool called “The Breakfast Game.” The specialized online training platform simulates the complex, fast-paced demands of real-life multitasking.
“While we are often told to avoid multitasking, life frequently demands it,” Sharon Sanz Simon, the study’s principal investigator, said. Simon serves as a neuropsychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, as well as a core faculty member of the Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s Research Center within the Rutgers Brain Health Institute. “Whether you are preparing a complex meal while managing a conversation or navigating a busy street while following directions, multitasking is unavoidable.”
The launch of the MUST Study follows a successful pilot trial that proved the initial cognitive benefits of the digital training. With the expanded federal funding, researchers are now looking beneath the surface to analyze how a participant’s cognitive performance correlates with distinct biological metrics.
The ultimate goal of the initiative is to move past the traditional debate over whether multitasking is inherently beneficial or detrimental, and instead arm the aging population with validated, accessible strategies.
“By the conclusion of this study, we hope to offer health providers and the public an innovative, digital training program and a tool that integrates neuroscience with practical brain health education to foster long-term cognitive resilience,” Simon added.
