Can online tai chi or mindful movement boost your memory?
NCT ID NCT05217849
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tested three online wellness programs—Tai Chi, a gentle mindful movement class called PLIE, and health education—in 77 adults aged 55 and older with mild memory or cognitive difficulties. The goal was to see if these programs could improve thinking skills, physical function, and brain connectivity. Participants took part from home and traveled to study sites in California for assessments.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Tai Chi, mindful movement (PLIE), and health education classes
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could point toward simple, home-based programs to help slow memory decline in older adults.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, completed study with 77 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The interventions are behavioral, so effects may be modest and not a substitute for medical treatment.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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77 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Feb 2022
- Finished
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Dec 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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55 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * age ≥ 55 years * subjective cognitive complaints, defined as self-experienced persistent decline in cognitive capacity in comparison with a previously normal status and unrelated to an acute event * Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score suggestive of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) status (i.e., \< 26) * English language fluency * Wireless internet connection at home * Willingness to travel to the San Francisco VA in northern California or UCLA in southern California for in-person assessments at baseline, after the 12-week interventions, and at the 36-week follow-up * Capacity to provide informed consent or legally authorized representative consent and participant assent. Exclusion Criteria: * current or past Axis I psychiatric disorders, or recent unstable medical or neurological disorders * disabilities that prevent participation in on-line movement classes (e.g., primarily use wheel-chair, severe visual impairment that would limit ability to observe instructor's movement on screen or severe hearing impairment that would limit ability to hear instructor's directions) * insufficient English proficiency * limited life expectancy (i.e., enrolled in hospice, metastatic cancer) * plan to travel for \> 1 week during 12-week intervention period * diagnosis of dementia per the DSM-5 * MoCA score suggestive of dementia (i.e., \<17) * started dementia medication (cholinesterase inhibitor or memantine) in past 3 months or plans to start dementia medication during study period * planning to start/change any psychoactive medication during study period * current participation in another research study * contraindications to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including claustrophobia severe enough to prevent MRI examination, presence of ferrometallic objects in the body that would interfere with MRI examination and/or cause a safety risk (e.g., pacemakers, implanted stimulators, pumps) * prior or current training in with Tai Chi, PLIE, or other mind-body practices
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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VA Health Care System
San Francisco, California, 94121, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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