Memory training for adults with probable mild cognitive impairment: a pilot study

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Background & Objectives: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of memory training and health training intervention over a 24-month period in people with probable mild cognitive impairment (MCI).Research Design & Methods: Based on the accepted criteria, and the neuropsychiatric measures used in the trial, MCI was defined as a subjective change in cognition, impairment in episodic memory, preservation of independence of functional abilities, and no dementia. Without a neurological assessment, laboratory tests, and psychometric evaluation combined, some of our participants may have had dementia that we were unable to detect through neuropsychological testing. Of the 263 total participants, 39 met criteria for a diagnosis of MCI. There were 19 adults in the memory and 20 in health training conditions. Both groups received twenty hours of classroom content that included eight hours of booster sessions at three months post intervention. Hierarchical linear models (HLM) and standardized regression-based (SBR) analyses were used to test the efficacy of the intervention on immediate recall, delayed recall, subjective memory complaints, and memory self-efficacy. Age, education, depression, racial group, ethnic group, MMSE score, and baseline performance were included as covariates.Results: Over 24 months, the MCI group in the memory training condition showed better objective and subjective memory outcomes compared with the MCI group in the health training condition.Conclusions: Senior WISE Memory training delivered to individuals with MCI was able to forestall the participants’ declining cognitive ability and sustain the benefit over two years in both subjective and objective memory function.