Abstract
Cognitive aging has become a major concern because life expectancy has increased and elderly populations are socially and economically active. Neurofeedback is a technique of neuromodulation through operant conditioning paradigm that uses a computer interface to provide real-time information about brain activity to increase individual self-perception and assist in modulation. The sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) training protocol is known to enhance attention and has been applied to improve cognitive performance, primarily for attention and memory gains. The aim of this study is to test if the SMR protocol can improve working memory performance in an aging population and consequently favor cognitive reserve. Seventeen older adults (12 females) took part in a randomized placebo-controlled study. They completed a visual working memory test, Delayed Matching to Sample Task (DMTS), before and after the SMR neurofeedback protocol in order to compare their visual working memory performance. Moreover, a 19-channels EEG was collected while they perform the DMTS pre- and post-training. The experimental group showed an improvement in their working memory performance after the training with similar activation power, mainly in theta and beta frequency band at frontal and alpha at temporal regions. The sham group showed some variations in the score of working memory after the training, but were not statistically significant and their power spectrum demonstrate enhancement in alpha and beta band frontal and temporal. The group that did not receive neurofeedback training did not show a change in their working memory performance, neither in their EEG spectrum. The results suggest that neurofeedback can benefit brain reserve in an aging population because individuals enhanced their working memory performance after training and have their EEG activation changed according to expected in working memory tasks.
Highlights
Cognitive aging has become a major social concern because life expectancy has increased (Baltes and Lindenberger, 1997)
The results show that the participants who had neurofeedback training increased their performance on a visual working memory task compared to participants who did not have training
The present study has shown that neurofeedback training is a technique beneficial to preserve cognitive reserve in elderly populations
Summary
Cognitive aging has become a major social concern because life expectancy has increased (Baltes and Lindenberger, 1997). To preserve cognitive reserve in aging populations, research in cognitive training increased (Baltes et al, 1989), and researchers have developed tools favoring cognitive maintenance. Natural changes expected in cognitive aging affect these capabilities; these changes can be a burden to a population that is still socially active. To counteract these changes, neurofeedback, a form of neuromodulation in which individuals have information about their neurological state and are able to self-regulate their brain activity through an operant conditioning paradigm, may be a technique to preserve cognitive reserve. An individual receives, through a computational interface, real-time visual and/or audio information about their brain wave activity as feedback after achieving a goal. There are two processes involved with neurofeedback: one is unconscious by operant conditioning and the other is conscious cognitive self-perception
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