Abstract
Active experiencing (AE) is an intervention aimed at attenuating cognitive declines with mindfulness training via an immersive acting program, and has produced promising results in older adults with limited formal education. Yet, the cognitive mechanism(s) of intervention benefits and generalizability of gains across cognitive domains in the course of healthy aging is unclear. We addressed these issues in an intervention trial of older adults (N = 179; mean age = 69.46 years at enrollment; mean education = 16.80 years) assigned to an AE condition (n = 86) or an active control group (i.e., theatre history; n = 93) for 4 weeks. A cognitive battery was administered before and after intervention, and again at a 4-month follow-up. Group differences in change in cognition were tested in latent change score models (LCSM). In the total sample, several cognitive abilities demonstrated significant repeated-testing gains. AE produced greater gains relative to the active control only in episodic recall, with gains still evident up to 4 months after intervention. Intervention conditions were similar in the magnitude of gains in working memory, executive function and processing speed. Episodic memory is vulnerable to declines in aging and related neurodegenerative disease, and AE may be an alternative or supplement to traditional cognitive interventions with older adults.
Highlights
Age-related cognitive declines are associated with the development of dementia (National Institutes of Health, 2011) and impact the ability of older adults to live safely and independently (Blake et al, 1988; Grundstrom et al, 2012; Boelens et al, 2013)
We offer promising evidence of Active experiencing (AE) intervention benefits to episodic memory function in healthy aging and identify propitious avenues of future study
Previous reports of AE identified it as a promising intervention to promote cognitive function into older age, yet the mechanism of intervention benefits as well as the generalizability of gains across cognitive domains in the course of healthy aging had not yet been examined
Summary
Age-related cognitive declines are associated with the development of dementia (National Institutes of Health, 2011) and impact the ability of older adults to live safely and independently (Blake et al, 1988; Grundstrom et al, 2012; Boelens et al, 2013). A multitude of factors appear to shape an individual’s aging trajectory (Raz and Kennedy, 2009), suggesting the possibility of intervening upon the process to potentially slow decline and promote successful aging With this aim, various behavioral interventions have been proposed such as physical activity (Colcombe and Kramer, 2003) and cognitive training (Jaeggi et al, 2008; Karbach and Kray, 2009). AE as a form of mindfulness training has been recently identified as a promising avenue for short-term intervention that produces lasting gains in cognitive function among older adults (Noice et al, 2004; Noice and Noice, 2009) These studies provide a good initial framework for examining AE, though, the evidence of gains is limited; the use of small samples that included individuals with elevated risk factors for cognitive decline and limited assessment of multiple cognitive abilities make the generalizability of this finding across cognitive functions in healthy aging unclear. We report the largest study to date of this promising intervention in healthy older adults, including an extensive test battery of cognitive tests
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
