Abstract
The cognitive deterioration associated with aging is accompanied by structural alterations and loss of functionality of the frontostriatal dopamine system. The question arises how such deleterious cognitive effects could be countered. Brain training, currently highly popular among young and old alike, promises that users will improve on certain neurocognitive skills, and this has indeed been confirmed in a number of studies. Based on these results, it seems reasonable to expect beneficial effects of brain training in the elderly as well. A selective review of the existing literature suggests, however, that the results are neither robust nor consistent, and that transfer and sustained effects thus far appear limited. Based on this review, we argue for a series of elements that hold potential for progress in successful types of brain training: (1) including flexibility and novelty as features of the training, (2) focusing on a number of promising, yet largely unexplored domains, such as decision-making and memory strategy training, and (3) tailoring the training adaptively to the level and progress of the individual. We also emphasize the need for covariance-based MRI methods in linking structural and functional changes in the aging brain to individual differences in neurocognitive efficiency and trainability in order to further uncover the underlying mechanisms.
Highlights
Given the continuously growing number of elderly and their increasing longevity expectation, there is a pressing need to prolong independent functioning and to sustain quality of life by delaying the effects of cognitive decline
We suggest that brain training tasks be multimodal, tax cognitive flexibility, and capitalize on novelty to stimulate plasticity to the highest extent
These properties tend not to be naturally included in older adults’ daily activities. This very fact points out the relevance of using these properties in this population in order to offer an optimally challenging environment
Summary
Reviewed by: Michael Falkenstein, Leibniz Research Centre für Working Environment and Human Factors, Germany Céline Nadja Bürki, University of Geneva, Switzerland. The cognitive deterioration associated with aging is accompanied by structural alterations and loss of functionality of the frontostriatal dopamine system. Currently highly popular among young and old alike, promises that users will improve on certain neurocognitive skills, and this has been confirmed in a number of studies. Based on these results, it seems reasonable to expect beneficial effects of brain training in the elderly as well. We emphasize the need for covariance-based MRI methods in linking structural and functional changes in the aging brain to individual differences in neurocognitive efficiency and trainability in order to further uncover the underlying mechanisms
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