{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T16:49:22Z","timestamp":1786121362407,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":22,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"\n Objective<\/jats:title>\n To examine whether generative artificial intelligence\u2013assisted visual art therapy improves cognitive function and alleviates anxiety and depression in community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n A quasi-experimental, cluster-gated design was employed in Shengli Street Community, Enshi City (September 2025\u2013April 2026). Eighty eligible older adults were enrolled and assigned by administrative grid to an intervention group (\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f40) or a control group (\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f40). The control group continued routine community activities; the intervention group additionally received a 12-week generative artificial intelligence\u2013assisted visual art therapy program. The primary outcome was change in Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) total score; the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) served as the secondary outcome. Assessments occurred at baseline, 1\u202fweek post-intervention, and at three-month follow-up. Cohen\u2019s d effect sizes are reported.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n Seventy-two participants completed the study. At post-intervention, the intervention group scored significantly higher on the MoCA (d\u202f=\u202f1.36,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001) and lower on HADS-Anxiety and HADS-Depression (d\u202f=\u202f0.73\u20130.76, both\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.01) relative to controls. Gains were largely maintained at 3\u202fmonths (MoCA d\u202f=\u202f1.08). Fidelity reached 93.5%; no serious adverse events occurred.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n An AI-enabled, four-phase visual art therapy program can improve cognition and reduce anxiety and depression in community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment, with effects partially sustained at 3\u202fmonths. The observed benefits reflect the synergistic effects of the multi-component intervention as a whole, rather than the isolated contribution of any single element.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1874071","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T04:21:54Z","timestamp":1786076514000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Generative artificial intelligence\u2013assisted visual art therapy improves cognition, anxiety, and depression in community-dwelling older adults"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Shi","family":"Zhuo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art and Design, Hubei University of Technology","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Min","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Art and Design, Hubei University of Technology","place":["Wuhan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi","family":"Zhuo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Minda Hospital of Hubei Minzu University","place":["Enshi, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"593","DOI":"10.46234\/ccdcw2021.158","article-title":"Trends and challenges for population and health during population aging\u2014China, 2015\u20132050","volume":"3","author":"Luo","year":"2021","journal-title":"China CDC Weekly"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102146","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arr.2023.102146","article-title":"Virtual reality and cognitive rehabilitation for older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review","volume":"93","author":"Tortora","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ageing Res Rev"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"102457","DOI":"10.1016\/j.arr.2024.102457","article-title":"Mechanisms, consequences and role of interventions for sleep deprivation: focus on mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease in elderly","volume":"100","author":"Mukherjee","year":"2024","journal-title":"Ageing Res Rev"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.4324\/9781032650647","volume-title":"Introduction to art Therapy Research","author":"Kapitan","year":"2025"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1892","DOI":"10.1111\/jan.14362","article-title":"Visual art therapy as a treatment option for cognitive decline among older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"76","author":"Masika","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Adv Nurs"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e70006","DOI":"10.1111\/ajag.70006","article-title":"Effects of artificial intelligence and virtual reality interventions in art therapy among older people with mild cognitive impairment","volume":"44","author":"Cao","year":"2025","journal-title":"Australas J Ageing"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"43057","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-025-27129-z","article-title":"A smart community interactive art therapy platform based on multimodal computer graphics and resilient artificial intelligence for home-based elderly care","volume":"15","author":"Sang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"72","DOI":"10.1080\/10400435.2012.715113","article-title":"Engaging older adults with dementia in creative occupations using artificially intelligent assistive technology","volume":"25","author":"Leuty","year":"2013","journal-title":"Assist Technol"},{"key":"ref9","author":"Yu","year":"2026"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"448","DOI":"10.1017\/S1355617702813248","article-title":"What is cognitive reserve? 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