Cognitive Stimulation Program Research Articles

Cognitive stimulation for people with dementia in nursing homes: a protocol for a feasibility study examining a new 24/7 approach (CogStim24)

IntroductionBased on the available evidence, cognitive stimulation is recommended as an intervention for people with dementia (PwD). Currently, cognitive stimulation is regularly offered as a group programme in care facilities....

The Effect of Prematurity on Children's Cognitive and Psychomotor Development

Development is something that must occur in living things, including humans. The development that occurs in a child is cognitive and psychomotor development. However, there are several factors that hinder development, one of which is being born prematurely. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of prematurity on children's cognitive and psychomotor development. The research method used in this research is a literature review with a qualitative approach. The data collection technique is done with documentation. So that the data source used is secondary data. After the data is obtained, data analysis is carried out with Miles & Hubberman interactive analysis through three stages, namely data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing. It was found that prematurity has a significant impact on the development of children's cognitive and psychomotor development as their organs are not fully developed, leading to the risk of complications and impairment of these abilities. So, the importance of cognitive and physical stimulation programs to support the optimal development of children born prematurely

Neuropsychological Stimulation Program for Children from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Guatemala remains one of the poorest countries in Central America and suffers from high rates of social inequality and violence. In addition to the negative impact that two years without attending school has had on Guatemalan children due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, this unfavourable socioeconomic context poses a risk to children's emotional and cognitive development. This work presents a protocol for implementing a cognitive and emotional stimulation program aimed at increasing the academic performance of these children and consequently improving their quality of life. The protocol proposes the implementation of a randomized controlled trial to assess the efficacy of a 24-session-long stimulation program. It targets the cognitive functions of attention, language, executive functions, and social cognition, using the digital neurorehabilitation platform NeuronUP. The participants (n = 480) will be randomly assigned to an Experimental or Control group. Pre- and post-intervention assessments will be carried out, together with a follow-up in the next academic year, in which both groups will change roles. Results will be compared for the first and second years, looking for differences in academic and cognitive performance between groups. Mid- and long-term outcomes are still unknown, but effective interventions based on this protocol are expected to facilitate the following benefits for participants: (1) improved cognitive and emotional development; (2) improved academic performance; (3) improved well-being. We expect to create a validated neuropsychological stimulation program that could be applied in similar socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts around the world to help these children improve their life chances.

Tracing Progress in Children’s Executive Functioning and Language Abilities Related to Reading Comprehension via ExeFun-READ Intervention

One important internal factor influencing reading comprehension is a child’s executive functioning. The primary objective of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive stimulation program, ExeFun-READ (a program focusing on executive functioning stimulation via the L1 (Slovak language) curriculum with a specific focus on enhancing reading comprehension). The program is explicitly based on the assumed bi-directional relationship between executive functioning and language abilities related to reading comprehension. The program is domain-specific; the curriculum of L1 (Slovak) is a curricular area in which cognitive mediation occurs. The study will investigate whether the domain-specific ExeFun-READ intervention had a positive effect on children’s executive functioning and language subcomponents of reading comprehension. Keeping in mind ecological validity, ExeFun-READ was designed primarily for educational purposes, specifically professional tutoring for low-performing students. The intervention consists of 30 units; each unit lasts for 45–60 min. A stimulation unit approximates a teaching unit rather than a clinical experimental intervention. In total, 151 low-performing students attending grade four from seven elementary schools took part in the project. The study employs a pre-test–training–post-test design with three conditions: experimental, active control, and passive control. In the current study, the intervention led to improved language abilities related to reading comprehension. Significant improvements were found in vocabulary (semantic knowledge), completion of sentences (syntactic knowledge), and classification of terms (verbal fluency and inferencing) in the group of children that received the ExeFun-READ intervention. In terms of executive functioning, the improvement only extended to switching fluency.

A Systematic Literature Review of the Impact of Cognitive Stimulation Programs on Reading Skills in Children Aged between 6 and 12 Years Old

The scientific evidence regarding the possibility of transferring benefits derived from cognitive training focused on working memory and inhibitory control to reading skills in children aged 6 to 12 is inconclusive. This study carries out a systematic review of recent published studies on this topic with the aim of analysing the specific role of various cognitive stimulation programs in the growth of executive functions and reading performance in children from ages 6 to 12. Here, we present the main results reported in the most recent literature, where the impact of intervention programs on working memory and inhibitory control in children with typical development are analysed. Even though the effectiveness of executive function training programs in terms of close transfer is conspicuous, there is still a lack of convergence in recently published articles, especially regarding the effects of far transfer in reading comprehension after cognitive stimulation programs are applied.

Participant and caregiver experiences of an activities of daily living-focused cognitive stimulation program for individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia (CS-ADL)

Background: Individuals with dementia experience a progressive deterioration in their cognitive and functional abilities, and as a result, require support from informal family caregivers. Non-pharmacological interventions, such as cognitive stimulation, are increasingly being used to address this deterioration. This study explored the participant and caregiver experiences of CS-ADL (Cognitive Stimulation in Activities of Daily Living), an activities of daily living-focused group cognitive stimulation program for individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia. Methods: A descriptive qualitative design was implemented. CS-ADL participants and caregivers were recruited in dyads through a Psychiatry of Later Life service where CS-ADL was delivered. Semi-structured interviews were completed with each dyad either in-person or via the telephone. Data retrieved were analyzed through reflexive thematic analysis. Results: CS-ADL was experienced as an acceptable intervention that positively influenced the everyday life of both dyad members, with benefits reported in the memory, mood, daily routine, and social interaction of participants. Furthermore, the facilitation style of group facilitators positively influenced participants’ engagement in CS-ADL. Limited data was gathered regarding the experience of activities of daily living. Conclusion: This is the first study to explore experiences of CS-ADL, producing a preliminary addition to the evidence-base for CS-ADL. However, further research is required to confirm study findings and explore the experiences of activities of daily living in greater depth.

Enabling Personalization for Digital Cognitive Stimulation to Support Communication With People With Dementia: Pilot Intervention Study as a Prelude to AI Development.

Maintaining good communication and engagement between people with dementia and their caregivers is a major challenge in dementia care. Cognitive stimulation is a psychosocial intervention that supports communication and engagement, and several digital applications for cognitive stimulation have been developed. Personalization is an important factor for obtaining sustainable benefits, but the time and effort required to personalize and optimize applications often makes them difficult for routine use by nonspecialist caregivers and families. Although artificial intelligence (AI) has great potential to support automation of the personalization process, its use is largely unexplored because of the lack of suitable data from which to develop and train machine learning models. This pilot study aims to evaluate a digital application called Aikomi in Japanese care homes for its potential to (1) create and deliver personalized cognitive stimulation programs to promote communication and engagement between people with dementia and usual care staff and (2) capture meaningful personalized data suitable for the development of AI systems. A modular technology platform was developed and used to create personalized programs for 15 people with dementia living in 4 residential care facilities in Japan with the cooperation of a family member or care staff. A single intervention with the program was conducted with the person with dementia together with a care staff member, and for some participants, smell stimulation was provided using selected smell sticks in conjunction with the digital program. All sessions were recorded using a video camera, and the combined personalized data obtained by the platform were analyzed. Most people with dementia (10/15, 67%) showed high levels of engagement (>40 on Engagement of a Person with Dementia Scale), and there were no incidences of negative reactions toward the programs. Care staff reported that some participants showed extended concentration and spontaneous communication while using Aikomi, which was not their usual behavior. Smell stimulation promoted engagement for some participants even when they were unable to identify the smell. No changes in well-being were observed following the intervention according to the Mental Function Impairment Scale. The level of response to each type of content in the stimulation program varied greatly according to the person with dementia, and personalized data captured by the Aikomi platform enabled understanding of correlations between stimulation content and responses for each participant. This study suggests that the Aikomi digital application is acceptable for use by persons with dementia and care staff and may have the potential to promote communication and engagement. The platform captures personalized data, which can provide suitable input for machine learning. Further investigation of Aikomi will be conducted to develop AI systems and create personalized digital cognitive stimulation applications that can be easily used by nonspecialist caregivers.

Cross-cultural effects of reminiscence therapy on life satisfaction and autobiographical memory of older adults: a pilot study across Mexico and Spain

BackgroundThere are increasing reports on the cognitive and emotional benefits of positive reminiscence therapy in older people. The objective of this study is to assess the differential improvement of the quality of life for older people in different vital situations (three different types of aging) and from different countries by implementing a positive reminiscence therapy program (REMPOS).MethodsThe participants were 144 older adults above the age of 65, 77 participants from Spain (45 experimental groups, 32 control groups) and 67 from Mexico (34 experimental groups, 33 control groups). The participants were recruited from nursing and retirement homes. A factorial randomized design with pre–post measurement with three independent variables: country (Mexico, Spain), condition (experimental, control), and types of aging (healthy aging, HA., mild cognitive impairment, MCI., Alzheimer’s disease, AD). The experimental groups received REMPOS therapy and control groups received standard cognitive stimulation program. The quality of life was measured with the Life Satisfaction Inventory for adults (LSI-A) and autobiographical memory test (AMT) before and after REMPOS therapy.ResultsThe REMPOS intervention showed significantly higher positive effects than the control condition on the recall of specific positive memories across countries and types of aging, except for the Spanish MCI group. Life satisfaction in the Alzheimer’s and MCI group only improved with REMPOS in the Mexican sample.ConclusionsThe REMPOS effects showed generalizable effects across countries, but the cross-cultural differences shown highlight the necessity of running studies to test those differential effects.

The Importance of Technology in the Combined Interventions of Cognitive Stimulation and Physical Activity in Cognitive Function in the Elderly: A Systematic Review.

Numerous studies have been developed in an attempt to understand which factors best predict improvements in cognitive function in the elderly such as exergaming. The aim of this study was to investigate and systematize literature on intervention programs that simultaneously include cognitive stimulation and physical activity, understand the importance of the use of new technology, including exergaming or computer programs, and understand their impact on cognitive function in older adults, giving indications about their contribution to healthy aging. A narrative approach was used for extraction and synthesis of the data. Relevant studies were identified from electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Academic Search Complete. Thirty-two articles, involving 2815 participants, were identified. All selected studies were randomized controlled studies. The studies were published between 2011 and 2020. All studies included a combination of cognitive and physical interventions. Many of the studies used technology to administer the cognitive stimulation program. Most of the analyzed studies used exergaming in physical and cognitive interventions, demonstrating that this new form of intervention exerts lasting and stable benefits in cognition. However, we concluded that more studies are needed to compare interventions that use exergaming or computer programs with traditional interventions.

Neuroprotection in metabolic syndrome by environmental enrichment. A lifespan perspective.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is defined by the concurrence of different metabolic conditions: obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia. Its incidence has been increasingly rising over the past decades and has become a global health problem. MetS has deleterious consequences on the central nervous system (CNS) and neurological development. MetS can last several years or be lifelong, affecting the CNS in different ways and treatments can help manage condition, though there is no known cure. The early childhood years are extremely important in neurodevelopment, which extends beyond, encompassing a lifetime. Neuroplastic changes take place all life through - childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age - are highly sensitive to environmental input. Environmental factors have an important role in the etiopathogenesis and treatment of MetS, so environmental enrichment (EE) stands as a promising non-invasive therapeutic approach. While the EE paradigm has been designed for animal housing, its principles can be and actually are applied in cognitive, sensory, social, and physical stimulation programs for humans. Here, we briefly review the central milestones in neurodevelopment at each life stage, along with the research studies carried out on how MetS affects neurodevelopment at each life stage and the contributions that EE models can provide to improve health over the lifespan.

'Experiences of patients and their informal caregivers with cognitive stimulation programs for dementia: A qualitative systematic review protocol'.

Cognitive stimulation, an individual or group intervention approach aiming to improve cognitive and social functioning among individuals with mild-to-moderate dementia, is often considered a complex intervention. The patient's experience of a complex intervention is unique and often determines its effectiveness. This proposed qualitative systematic review aims to comprehensively synthesise the experiences of individuals with dementia and their informal caregivers who have participated in cognitive stimulation programs, identifying perceived benefits, challenges, barriers, and facilitators to this approach to intervention. This review will consider qualitative studies that evaluate the experiences of individuals with a diagnosis of dementia and/or the informal caregivers of individuals with dementia who have participated in a cognitive stimulation program. Searches will be conducted across MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Elsevier), PsycINFO, Scopus, CINAHL (EBSCO) and Web of Science. Quality of eligible studies will be assessed using the JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research, and a standardised data extraction tool in JBI SUMARI will be used to extract data from relevant studies. The meta-aggregation approach will be used to pool qualitative research findings, which will then be synthesised to produce a single set of findings in narrative format. This qualitative systematic review will identify and synthesise the evidence regarding the experiences of individuals with dementia who have taken part in a cognitive stimulation program and the experience of their informal caregivers. As a variety of cognitive stimulation programs exist, our findings will summarise the experiences of these interventions to inform the future development and delivery of cognitive stimulation programs. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42022383658.

Effects of a cognitive stimulation program on physical and cognitive dimensions in community-dwelling faller older adults with cognitive impairment: study protocol

BackgroundCognitive functioning is an important dimension among the elderly. Cognitive maintenance is vital for aging due to its association with autonomy and independence. Considering the importance of preventive programs in older adults’ health, this study aims to share an intervention protocol of a falls prevention program for community-dwelling faller older adults with cognitive impairment.MethodsThis is the protocol of an experimental and longitudinal study, consisting of cognitive stimulation associated with physical exercise in a 16-week fall prevention program. For cognitive intervention, the APG Cognitive Training Protocol will be used. Participants will be assessed pre-and post-intervention and will be randomly allocated to experimental or control groups. The screening protocol is composed of the TUG, FES-I, LAWTON & BRODY, ACE-R, GAI and fall survey instruments, focusing on the assessment of balance and mobility, fear of falling, performance on IADL, cognitive and anxiety tracking, respectively.DiscussionThis study can determine the long-term effects of multimodal cognitive training, providing evidence for its replication in the provision of care for the elderly. The objective is to promote improvements in the cognitive performance, mobility and balance of the elderly, with a focus on reducing the number of falls, fractures, hospitalizations and institutionalization, serving as an alternative to interrupt the cycle of falls.Trial registrationThe research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee with Human Beings at the Federal University of São Carlos, CAAE: 3654240.9.0000.5504 and Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (REBEC) RBR—3t85fd, registered on the 25th of September, 2020.

Effectiveness of a Computerized Home-Based Cognitive Stimulation Program for Treating Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment.

Cancer patients assert that after chemotherapy their cognitive abilities have deteriorated. Cognitive stimulation is the clinical treatment of choice for reversing cognitive decline. The current study describes a computerized home-based cognitive stimulation program in patients who survived breast cancer. It aims to assess safety and effectiveness of cognitive stimulation in the oncology population. A series of 45-min training sessions was completed by the participants. A thorough assessment was performed both before and after the intervention. The mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, the Cognitive Assessment for Chemo Fog Research, and the Functionality Assessment Instrument in Cancer Treatment-Cognitive Function served as the main assessment tools. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Brief Fatigue Inventory, and Measuring Quality of Life-The World Health Organization data were gathered as secondary outcomes. Home-based cognitive stimulation demonstrated beneficial effects in the oncology population, with no side effects being reported. Cognitive, physical, and emotional improvements were observed, along with decreased interference in daily life activities and a better overall quality of life.

Effects of cognitive stimulation program on cognition and mood in older adults, stratified by cognitive levels: A randomized controlled trial

Purpose of the researchCognitive stimulation (CS) is defined as activities that involve cognitive processing, usually conducted in a social context and often in a group. This study aims to evaluate the effects of a personalized-adapted CS program in older adults on global cognition, neuropsychological constructs, activities of daily living (ADLs), and mood. Materials and methodsThe randomized controlled single-blind trial involving 337 participants (235 women and 102 men) ≥ 65 years of age in a Primary Care centre classified participants into 4 groups: 101 for the no deterioration (ND) group; 100 for the subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) group; 108 for the level deterioration (LD) group and 28 for the moderate deterioration group. The intervention consisted of a personalized CS adapted program for 10 weeks. Follow-up assessments were conducted post-intervention, and at 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome was global cognition measured by the Spanish version of the Mini-Mental State Examination. The secondary outcomes were measured by the Barthel Index, the Lawton and Brody Scale, the Goldberg Questionnaire (anxiety sub-scale) and the abbreviated Yesavage Geriatric Depression Scale. ResultsThe intervention showed a tendency of improvement on global cognition and different cognitive functions for groups with no deterioration or level deterioration. The group with moderate deterioration improved in anxiety. ConclusionsThe findings demonstrated benefits in global cognition, different cognitive functions, semantic fluency, IADLs and anxiety. The most benefits are given in the intermediate groups, SCI, and LD. Moreover, the intervention works by increasing the benefits in the different phases.

Digital Therapeutics for Insomnia: Assessing the Effectiveness of a Computerized Home-Based Cognitive Stimulation Program

Sleep disturbances represent a major health burden today, affecting up to one-third of the population worldwide. Computerized cognitive stimulation has been proven as an effective approach in diminishing negative symptomatology and improving the quality of life in a range of medical conditions. Given its nature in enhancing neural networks, such as those involved in stimulus monitoring and inhibitory processes, computerized cognitive stimulation is arising as a potential tool to overcome underlying cognitive deficits found among patients suffering from insomnia. In the current study, we report the results of Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials of a home-based computerized cognitive stimulation program. The cognitive stimulation intervention followed a home-based approach with online supervision by a psychologist. The training activities were gamified cognitive tasks that had been designed to improve executive functions, with a focus on inhibition skills. The Insomnia Severity Index and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scales were used as the main assessment measures. Data from the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire were also recorded before and after the intervention. During 15 consecutive days, participants performed on alternate days a total of 7 training sessions (each lasting 45 minutes). Twelve patients with clinical insomnia were administered the home-based online cognitive stimulation program. After seven training sessions, mean changes in sleep quality, depressive and anxiety symptoms, worry thoughts, and everyday function were found, with significant improvements in these domains in the full absence of safety issues. In patients with insomnia, cognitive stimulation demonstrated improvements in sleep quality, mood, and cognitive performance over a 15-day protocol. No relevant side effects were reported. The long-term effectiveness of the intervention is still unknown. The study protocol has been reviewed and published in ClinicalTrials.gov, assigning it the code NCT05050292 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05050292?term=NCT05050292&draw=2&rank=1.

Effects on Language and Verbal Fluency of a Cognitive Stimulation Program in Older Adults: Randomized Controlled Trial

The efficacy of cognitive stimulation programs for the elderly is sufficiently documented. However, few studies have addressed the effectiveness of language stimulation programs by cognitive levels in this population. This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 308 participants from a primary care center and followed the CONSORT guidelines. A stratified randomization was carried out. The primary variable was the MEC-35, validated Spanish version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). The secondary outcome variable was set-test, which evaluates verbal fluency in four categories. These tests were assessed for all outcome measures at baseline, at 10 weeks, at 6 months, and 1 year after the intervention. The intervention consisted of 10 sessions of 45 min/week for 10 weeks through mental activation notebooks that comprehensively work on the different cognitive functions. The results show that the comparisons between the control and intervention group turn out to be significant (p < 0.05) at the three time points. The comprehensive cognitive stimulation program has made it possible to improve the global aspects of cognition, language proficiency, and verbal fluency. To optimize and maintain these results, it is necessary to consider other clinical, functional, psychological, and occupational aspects, as well as related educational aspects, which prevent mild cognitive impairment.

A methodology for emotional intelligence testing in elderly people with low-cost EEG and PPG devices

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a basic concept in psychology that is gaining social importance. According to Goleman, it refers to the ability to be aware of and to handle one’s emotions in varying situations. Current research indicates that EI can be improved through training, leading to an increased awareness of how we can contribute to the emotional management. In this paper, a low-cost ElectroEncephaloGraphy (EEG) and PhotoPlethysmoGraphy (PPG) based proposal is introduced in order to assess the level of emotional intelligence among elderly people during cognitive stimulation sessions. Twenty-five older people , who were baby boomers (people born from 1946 to 1964), were recruited during 2 months, while they participated in a cognitive stimulation program. During those months, these participants were trained in different techniques of emotional management and they learned how to use several low-cost EEG and PPG devices. They were subjected to several emotional stimulation sessions where stress and anxiety scenarios were considered. By using our proposal, different supervised learning algorithms were evaluated in order to allow emotion detection, having the Support Vector Machine (SVM) technique as the one that reached better scores. Later, our solution supports emotional intelligence test and promising outcomes were achieved.

Impact of a cognitive stimulation program on the reading comprehension of children in primary education.

At present, numerous studies can be found in which influences and relationships between the principal executive functions, reading comprehension, and academic performance associated with reading are reported. However, there is still a lack of convergence regarding the impact of computerized cognitive training on children's executive development and its transfer in academic reading performance and comprehension of written texts. This study analyzes the effect of implementing a cognitive stimulation program on the performance of reading comprehension and academic performance in the subject of Spanish Language and Literature. To this end, a total sample of 196 children from 23 educational centers received the cognitive intervention for 8 weeks, with three weekly sessions of between 15 and 20 min each occurring on non-consecutive days. Pre-test and post-test measurements were collected and analyzed. The results demonstrate a significant increase in the reading comprehension scores. In addition, a significant impact of the training on the participants' academic performance in the subject Spanish Language and Literature was found. These results highlight the usefulness of computerized cognitive stimulation programs for reading comprehension enhancement.

Customizing a Cognitive Stimulation Program for Individuals with Dementia through a Participatory Design Approach

(1) Background: Different intervention strategies, such as reminiscence and music-based therapies, effectively mitigate the cognitive decline of individuals with dementia (IwD). An important challenge when implementing these approaches lies in the need for content customization. We designed Musiquence platform, a framework that allows the customization of music and reminiscence content in cognitive stimulation activities. (2) Methods: Here, we present a participatory design methodology for designing a seven-week customized cognitive stimulation program (CCSP) for IwD using Musiquence. We ran focus groups with 19 formal caregivers, who provided information regarding themes and music to be used in activities for IwD, and gathered preferences from 20 IwD. (3) Results: The CCSP consists of seven cycles of tasks combining the activities available in Musiquence, the seven preferential themes of IwD, and the seven songs most frequently referenced by formal caregivers. (4) Conclusions: Finally, we provide a set of guidelines to implement a participatory design approach for content development together with IwD.

Effects of a Cognitive Stimulation Program in Institutionalized Patients with Dementia.

Background: The advances achieved by the available research that focus on understanding memory operation and cognitive functions have helped the development of specific treatment approaches. These can help to maintain or improve the cognitive function and well-being of people with dementia. The use of cognitive stimulation in dementia has a long history. There are multiple studies that have demonstrated its benefits on the cognitive levels of patients with mild to moderate dementia. However, all of the studies on this type of non-pharmacological intervention conclude that there is a need for more clinical trials in order to give more solidity to the evidence already found. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the effects of an occupational therapy cognitive training program on the cognitive function of institutionalized older adults with dementia. Methods: The study was a pilot randomized clinical controlled trial. A total of 58 participants with major neurocognitive disorder or dementia were randomized to the occupational therapy cognitive training program group or to the conventional occupational therapy group twice a week for 5 weeks. The cognitive level was measured with the Global Deterioration Scale (GDS) and the Lobo’s Cognitive Mini Test (LCMT), which is the Mini-Mental Status Examination in Spanish. Measures were taken at baseline (week 0), after 5 weeks of treatment (week 5), and after 6 weeks of follow up (week 12). A value of p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: There were no statistical differences between groups in the LCMT global scores at baseline or after the intervention at week 5. However, the analysis of the specific cognitive areas assessed in the Lobo’s Cognitive Mini Test indicated that that the intervention group significantly improved comprehension of verbal commands and praxis (p = 0.021). At the follow-up measure, the differences obtained in relation to verbal commands and praxis maintained the statistical differences significantly (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Occupational therapy based on cognitive training shows positive effects on the maintenance of the global cognitive state of institutionalized older adults with dementia and improves significantly the comprehension of verbal commands and praxis.