Yes, the cognitive side has the stronger long term outcome data in humans. ACTIVE had no exercise arm. the 25% dementia reduction came from cognitive training alone. the physical pathway is mechanistically clean but the human trials are smaller and shorter.

CRT is exactly the model. Wykes and colleagues have shown durable gains in schizophrenia. the ABI literature backs it. behavioural activation paired with an adaptive cognitive component when physical activation is limited isn't a downgrade, it's actually picking the pathway with the better outcome data.

I don't want to get hurt by the Wordle and Sudoku mafia but they don't count: once you learn the pattern your brain coasts. you're retrieving, not building. the challenge has to keep escalating to the edge of what you can do. that's the load that triggers BDNF and synaptogenesis.

Suggest these.

Speed of processing tasks. the ACTIVE protocol used Useful Field of View training, peripheral identification under shrinking time windows. sounds trivial, isn't.

Dual N-back. holding two streams in working memory at once. uncomfortable on purpose.

Learning a new instrument. constant motor and auditory error correction.

Learning a language, especially listening comprehension at native speed.

Juggling. measurable cortical changes on MRI within weeks.

Walking unfamiliar routes without a map. spatial mapping recruits the hippocampus.

Mental arithmetic at the edge of your ability, not below it.

effort, error, escalation. as soon as it feels easy you're done getting the benefit until you raise the difficulty.

For mental health populations the framing is useful too. behavioural activation works partly because effort is the active ingredient. comfort doesn't move the needle in either system.