The Multicomponent Day-Care Program Prevents Volume Reduction in a Memory-Related Brain Area in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment

Abstract

Introduction: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered an important period for interventions to prevent progression to dementia. Nonpharmacological interventions for MCI include exercise training, cognitive intervention, and music therapy. These play an important role in improving cognitive function, but their effects on brain plasticity in individuals with MCI are largely unknown. We investigated the effects of a multicomponent day-care program provided by the University of Tsukuba Hospital on the longitudinal brain volume changes in MCI patients. Methods: MCI patients who participated in the multicomponent day-care program and underwent whole-brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) twice during their participation (n = 14), were included. We divided them into two groups according to their attendance rate and conducted a between-group analysis of longitudinal volume changes in the whole cerebral cortex. Regional brain volumes derived from the patients’ MRI were calculated with Freesurfer 6.0.0. Results: The neuroimaging analysis demonstrated that the left rostral anterior cingulate cortex volume was significantly preserved in the high-attendance group compared to that of the low-attendance group. Conclusion: Our results suggest that continuous participation in a multicomponent day-care program could help prevent a volume reduction in memory-related brain areas in patients with MCI.