Abstract
Non-pharmacological treatment (NPT) improves cognitive functions and behavioural disturbances in patients with dementia, but the underlying neural mechanisms are unclear. In this observational study, 21 patients with dementia received NPTs for several months. Patients were scanned using magnetoencephalography twice during the NPT period to evaluate NPT effects on resting-state brain activity. Additionally, cognitive functions and behavioural disturbances were measured using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE-J) and a short version of the Dementia Behaviour Disturbance Scale (DBD-13) at the beginning and the end of the NPT period. In contrast to the average DBD-13 score, the average MMSE-J score improved after the NPT period. Magnetoencephalography data revealed a reduced alpha activity in the right temporal lobe and fusiform gyrus, as well as an increased low-gamma activity in the right angular gyrus. DBD-13 score changes were correlated with beta activity in the sensorimotor area. These findings corroborate previous studies confirming NPT effects on brain activity in healthy participants and people at risk of dementia. Our results provide additional evidence that brains of patients with dementia have the capacity for plasticity, which may be responsible for the observed NPT effects. In dementia, NPT might lead to improvements in the quality of life.
Highlights
Non-pharmacological treatment (NPT) improves cognitive functions and behavioural disturbances in patients with dementia, but the underlying neural mechanisms are unclear
The cognitive functions of the study population improved over the NPT period but the patients’ age nor their initial cognitive function was a predictor of this change
The present study revealed two major findings: (1) NPTs improved cognitive functions in patients with dementia, behavioural disturbance parameters were not significantly modified, and (2) the spontaneous neural oscillations in the right hemisphere changed over the NPT period and parts of these changes correlated with changes in the behavioural score (DBD-13)
Summary
Non-pharmacological treatment (NPT) improves cognitive functions and behavioural disturbances in patients with dementia, but the underlying neural mechanisms are unclear. In this observational study, 21 patients with dementia received NPTs for several months. DBD-13 score changes were correlated with beta activity in the sensorimotor area These findings corroborate previous studies confirming NPT effects on brain activity in healthy participants and people at risk of dementia. Clinicians and therapists frequently observe that NPTs improve cognitive functions and/or behaviours in patients with dementia[18,19,20,21,22,23]. Geriatric health service facilities are transitional facilities between hospital and home or nursing home where registered physical, occupational, and speech therapists provide NPT and nursing care to reduce the patients’
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