Abstract
Healthy aging is associated with deficits in focused and sustained attention and executive functions. However, cognitive training (CT) provides a promising method to counteract these deficits. In the present randomized controlled study, we examined to what extent CT regimes can improve attention, verbal skills, and inhibition capacities. Over a period of 16 weeks, healthy older adults (65 years and older, mean: 70 years) received a trainer-guided multidomain paper-and-pencil and computerized CT. Pre- and post-training, a battery of psychometric tests was applied that measured the critical functions. This study used two control groups: a passive control and an active control group performing a relaxation training. Compared to a passive control group, the CT led to enhanced performance in the attentional endurance test and the interference list of the Stroop test, whereas no benefits in verbal and crystalized tests were found. Similar effects were found on the attentional endurance compared to the active control group. Additionally, word fluency was enhanced after CT, but the improvement in the Stroop test did not reach significance compared to the active control. The contents of CT were dissimilar to the psychometric tests showing far transfer, whereas no transfer to attentional or memory functions in the daily life assessed by the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire was found. This demonstrates specific gains of multidomain CT on cognitive functions not explicitly trained and lack of transfer to daily activities.
Highlights
People in western societies are living longer and longer, and the incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia has increased rapidly from decade to decade
No main effect of group was found (F[1, 62] = 2.4, p = 0.12, ηp2 = 0.038), but there was an interaction between Group and Session (F[1, 62] = 4.8, p < 0.05, ηp2 = 0.072), indicating a larger increase of the number of symbols at t2 compared to t1 in the cognitive training (CT) group as outlined above [426.3 ± 15.2 vs. 376.3 ± 14.0; t(31) = 5.6, p < 0.0001] than in the active control group [377.9 ± 12.7 vs. 360.7 ± 12.7; t(32) = 1.3, p = 0.18]
There was no effect of Group (F[1, 67] < 1) and a weak trend for an interaction between Group and Session (F[1, 67] = 3.2, p = 0.079, ηp2 = 0.045), indicating a slight increase of correct items from t1 to t2 [46.5 ± 1.6 vs. 49.9 ± 1.6; t(31) = 2.7, p = 0.011] in the CT group, while no substantial change was observed in the passive control group [46.4 ± 1.5 vs. 46.9 ± 1.5; t(36) < 1]
Summary
People in western societies are living longer and longer, and the incidence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia has increased rapidly from decade to decade. Even healthy aging is usually associated with a decline of a number of distinct cognitive abilities which are essential for mobility and independent living. There are genetic dispositions and other biological factors that set an individual range of cognitive abilities. There are several environmental factors and behavioral adjustments, like education, nutrition, physical activity, and cognitive engagement, that stimulate the cognitive system and may compensate some deficits to a certain extent due to neuronal plasticity even in older age (Stern, 2009; Greenwood and Parasuraman, 2010; Bamidis et al, 2014; Ballesteros et al, 2014, 2015; Gajewski and Falkenstein, 2016, for reviews). In addition to the influencing factors, methods and interventions ameliorating cognitive aging has gained more and more interest
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