The Benefits of Cognitive Stimulation or Training/Rehabilitation upon Brain Function as an Efficacious Treatment for Diagnosed Dementia or Mild Cognitive Decline

Abstract

Medication has had disappointing results seen in various recently failed drug trials. The role of medication has typically been more preventative as opposed to providing evidence of improved memory function reported by cognitive rehabilitation research. The interest held by our facility is based upon fifteen years of providing cognitive training and seeing some type of improvement in every patient following as minimal as three months of training (twice weekly for one hour). Differences are seen on neuropsychological evaluation completed prior to training and following three month treatment intervals. We employ the use of various games and activities that are specifically chosen based upon neurocognitive assessment. As a result this is not a broad based program but instead a specifically designed individualized treatment for various forms of dementia. This is consistent with a literature review of cognitive stimulation or rehabilitation.