Level Of Cognitive Activity Research Articles

Preliminary evidence for the feasibility of at-home online cognitive training with older adults.

Increased levels of cognitive activity may improve general cognitive function in older adults and potentially increase cognitive reserve, protecting against the onset of dementia associated with syndromes like Alzheimer's disease. To test the efficacy of cognitive training administered online, 18 participants (11 cognitively healthy; 7 mild cognitive impairment) were recruited from a clinical population of older adults to complete an online training intervention (CogniFit™). Before and after training, participants completed a separate battery of assessment measures, including measures of quality of life and competency at everyday activities, as well as a series of tests assessing cognitive function. Participants generally adhered to the online training protocol and completed a computerized assessment battery pre- and post-training. However, participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) were somewhat less likely to adhere to the protocol, suggesting that more direct contact is needed with this population in intervention research. Furthermore, participants demonstrated significant improvement on a measure of working memory and also in processing speed across several assessments, though these data are tentative, as no control data exist. These results, along with the generally good adherence observed, suggest that online cognitive training is feasible for this population and a potentially valuable tool for the wider dissemination of cognitive training.

Longitudinal Associations of Need for Cognition, Cognitive Activity, and Depressive Symptomatology With Cognitive Function in Recent Retirees

This study investigated how interindividual differences in cognitive function are related to interindividual differences in the motivational trait of need for cognition, cognitive activity levels, and depressive symptomatology in a sample of young-old adults. The ample comprised 333 recent retirees from the Concordia Longitudinal Retirement Project (mean age = 59.06 years at entry into study), assessed at 4 annual time points. Cognitive function was measured at 2 time points with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. We used structural equation modeling to examine a longitudinal mediation model controlling for age, education, years since retirement, and prior occupation. Need for cognition was positively associated with change in cognitive status 2 years later. Variety of cognitive activities was positively associated with level of cognitive status 1 year later. Depressive symptomatology was negatively associated with level of cognitive status 1 year later. Our findings indicate that motivational disposition plays a significant role in enhancing cognitive status in retirees, as do variety of cognitive activities. Additionally, subclinical depressive symptomatology can negatively influence cognitive status in young-old retirees. These results have implications for the design of interventions aimed at maintaining the cognitive health of retirees.

Influence of late-life cognitive activity on cognitive health

To test the hypothesis that late-life participation in mentally stimulating activities affects subsequent cognitive health. Analyses are based on 1,076 older persons without dementia at study onset participating in a longitudinal cohort study. They completed annual clinical evaluations for a mean of 4.9 years. Each evaluation included administration of a self-report scale about participation in mentally stimulating activities and a battery of cognitive performance tests. Previously established measures of cognitively stimulating activity and cognitive function were derived. We assessed the temporal sequence of activity changes in relation to functional changes in a series of cross-lagged panel models adjusted for age, sex, and education. During the observation period, cognitive activity participation (estimate of mean annual change = -0.066, SE = 0.005, p < 0.001) and cognitive functioning (estimate = -0.077, SE = 0.005, p < 0.001) declined at rates that were moderately correlated (r = 0.44, p < 0.001). The level of cognitive activity in a given year predicted the level of global cognitive function in the following year, but the level of global cognition did not predict the subsequent level of cognitive activity participation. Cognitive activity showed the same pattern of unidirectional associations with measures of episodic and semantic memory, but its associations with working memory were bidirectional. The results suggest that more frequent mental stimulation in old age leads to better cognitive functioning.

Cognitively Stimulating Activities: Effects on Cognition across Four Studies with up to 21 Years of Longitudinal Data

Engagement in cognitively stimulating activities has been considered to maintain or strengthen cognitive skills, thereby minimizing age-related cognitive decline. While the idea that there may be a modifiable behavior that could lower risk for cognitive decline is appealing and potentially empowering for older adults, research findings have not consistently supported the beneficial effects of engaging in cognitively stimulating tasks. Using observational studies of naturalistic cognitive activities, we report a series of mixed effects models that include baseline and change in cognitive activity predicting cognitive outcomes over up to 21 years in four longitudinal studies of aging. Consistent evidence was found for cross-sectional relationships between level of cognitive activity and cognitive test performance. Baseline activity at an earlier age did not, however, predict rate of decline later in life, thus not supporting the concept that engaging in cognitive activity at an earlier point in time increases one's ability to mitigate future age-related cognitive decline. In contrast, change in activity was associated with relative change in cognitive performance. Results therefore suggest that change in cognitive activity from one's previous level has at least a transitory association with cognitive performance measured at the same point in time.

Learning to pose cognitively demanding tasks through letter writing

We have used letter writing as a means for preservice teachers (PSTs) to develop ability to design effective tasks, in terms of eliciting high levels of cognitive activity from students. Studies on student-dependent task analyses, by assessing the levels of cognitive demand indicated in students’ responses, have demonstrated significant growth among PSTs over the course of letter-writing exchanges. We examine growth with a qualitative analysis of two PSTs who became effective at designing tasks that elicited high levels of cognitive activity. In particular, we examine how those PSTs accounted for tasks that did not elicit the kinds of activity they expected and how they adjusted their tasks to elicit higher levels of activity. We found disparity between the two PSTs’ apparently successful approaches: one that fit the larger goals of the project and one that fit only the descriptions specified in the project rubric. The study affirms the potential value of letter-writing projects while introducing a concern that has implications for all professional development projects.

Cognitive Enrichment in Old Age

Lifestyles with high levels of cognitive activity have been linked to weaker declines in cognitive abilities with aging. Hence, computer-based cognitive training programs that facilitate intense, daily, cognitive practice may help older adults to maintain and improve their cognitive functioning. We present the rationale for and implementation of an internet-based training environment that includes tasks of perceptual speed, episodic memory, and working memory. It was implemented as platform-independent internet-based testing software and used in the COGITO study to investigate intraindividual variability and plasticity in 101 younger (age 20–31) and 103 older (age 65–80) adults across an average of 100 daily practice sessions. Observations from this study and retrospective self-report evaluations demonstrate the program’s feasibility and acceptance among participants.

Frequent Cognitive Activity Compensates for Education Differences in Episodic Memory

To test the hypothesis that frequent participation in cognitive activities can moderate the effects of limited education on cognitive functioning. A national study of adult development and aging, Midlife in the United States, with assessments conducted at the second wave of measurement in 2004-2006. Assessments were made over the telephone (cognitive measures) and in a mail questionnaire (demographic variables, measures of cognitive and physical activity, and self-rated health). A total of 3,343 men and women between the ages of 32 and 84 with a mean age of 55.99 years. The dependent variables were Episodic Memory (Immediate and Delayed Word List Recall) and Executive Functioning (Category Fluency, Backward Digit Span, Backward Counting Speed, Reasoning, and Attention Switching Speed). The independent variables were years of education and frequency of cognitive activity (reading, writing, doing word games or puzzles, and attending lectures). The covariates were age, sex, self-rated health, income, and frequency of physical activity. The two cognitive measures were regressed on education, cognitive activity frequency, and their interaction, while controlling for the covariates. Education and cognitive activity were significantly correlated with both cognitive abilities. The interaction of education and cognitive activity was significant for episodic memory but not for executive functioning. Those with lower education had lower cognitive functioning, but this was qualified by level of cognitive activity. For those with lower education, engaging frequently in cognitive activities showed significant compensatory benefits for episodic memory, which has promise for reducing social disparities in cognitive aging.

Cognitive activities delay onset of memory decline in persons who develop dementia

Persons destined to develop dementia experience an accelerated rate of decline in cognitive ability, particularly in memory. Early life education and participation in cognitively stimulating leisure activities later in life are 2 factors thought to reflect cognitive reserve, which may delay the onset of the memory decline in the preclinical stages of dementia. We followed 488 initially cognitively intact community residing individuals with epidemiologic, clinical, and cognitive assessments every 12 to 18 months in the Bronx Aging Study. We assessed the influence of self-reported participation in cognitively stimulating leisure activities on the onset of accelerated memory decline as measured by the Buschke Selective Reminding Test in 101 individuals who developed incident dementia using a change point model. Each additional self-reported day of cognitive activity at baseline delayed the onset of accelerated memory decline by 0.18 years. Higher baseline levels of cognitive activity were associated with more rapid memory decline after that onset. Inclusion of education did not significantly add to the fit of the model beyond the effect of cognitive activities. Our findings show that late life cognitive activities influence cognitive reserve independently of education. The effect of early life education on cognitive reserve may be mediated by cognitive activity later in life. Alternatively, early life education may be a determinant of cognitive reserve, and individuals with more education may choose to participate in cognitive activities without influencing reserve. Future studies should examine the efficacy of increasing participation in cognitive activities to prevent or delay dementia.

Intellectual activity and likelihood of subsequently improving or maintaining instrumental activities of daily living functioning in community‐dwelling older Japanese: a longitudinal study

To test the a priori hypothesis that increase or maintenance of the level of cognitive activity would be independently associated with a subsequent beneficial impact (i.e. improvement or maintenance) on instrumental activity of daily living (IADL) functioning. Observational study using 4-year longitudinal data from 1477 community-dwelling Japanese who were 66 years and older and living in Yoita town, a rural community located in the northwest along the Sea of Japan. Baseline assessment occurred in November 2000. Intellectual Activity and IADL were evaluated using the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG) Index of Competence. Increase or maintenance of exposure to intellectual activities over a period of 2 years was associated with increased likelihood of better IADL functioning trajectory (i.e. improvement or stability) over the subsequent 2 years (OR: 1.63; 95% CI: 1.03-2.56; p = 0.035), even after adjustment for major confounders. This study documented a longitudinal, independent association of exposure to intellectual activities with better IADL functioning over time. These findings provide preliminary support for promotion of exposure to intellectual activities among older adults as an opportunity to prevent disability in the older segment of the population. Assessment of public health programs targeting such an opportunity is warranted.

What metaphor for the aging brain?

Most of us do not often think about how we think, and that's probably just as well. Our language can circle around itself, often taking us up blind alleys, or into a complexity that is as irredeemable as it is irrelevant to daily practice. But sometimes we must give mind to our metaphors. For a long time we have thought of the brain in old age as an innocent bystander. It sometimes gets bruised and sometimes beaten up, but it's not as though it can do a lot about it. Other metaphors have competed, including the brain as repository, coming to old age with assets that inexorably dwindle, until they meet a threshold, after which disease occurs. In this issue, Wilson and colleagues1 report that people who habitually engage in high levels of cognitive activity showed less cognitive decline—and less often had Alzheimer disease (AD)—than did people with less cognitively activating routines. The Rush Memory and Aging Project is a prospective clinicopathologic study, whose 931 participants have agreed to annual examinations and brain autopsy. Its high retention rate (93.5% of people enrolled for more than 1 year average were followed 3.5 times on average) and detailed evaluations provide insights into the …

The quality of life of children suffering from oncologic diseases in Lithuania

Nearly 80 new cases of pediatric cancer are diagnosed in Lithuania each year. Since 2005, we have been conducting a study evaluating the quality of life of children suffering from cancer in Lithuania. The participants were children between the ages of 2 and 18 years, diagnosed with oncologic diseases during the period from March 2005 to March 2006, and their parents. The PedsQL (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory(TM)) was used. This questionnaire is specifically designed for investigating the quality of life in children between the ages of 2 and 18 years. The PedsQL questionnaire is designed according to the level of cognitive activity of children and applied to children of four age groups: 2-4, 5-7, 8-12, and 13-18 years of age. The questionnaires were completed by children between the ages of 8 and 18 years in addition to parents of children from all age groups. The families of 63 children suffering from cancer participated in the study. A total of 44 children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 18 years and 53 parents (mother, father, close relative) filled out the questionnaire. Data from the study showed that children suffering from cancer (irrespective of their age) in addition to their parents evaluated their physical health as being worse than their psychosocial health. The parents had the opinion that children from all age groups experienced negative emotions: the younger children were afraid of giving blood for tests, whereas the older children were worried about the future. In the oldest age group of participants (13-18 years), children felt disease-related fatigue more often than their younger counterparts.

Enhanced cognitive activity—over and above social or physical activity—is required to protect Alzheimer’s mice against cognitive impairment, reduce Aβ deposition, and increase synaptic immunoreactivity

Although social, physical, and cognitive activities have each been suggested to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), epidemiologic studies cannot determine which activity or combination of activities is most important. To address this question, mutant APP transgenic AD mice were reared long-term in one of four housing conditions (impoverished, social, social + physical, or complete enrichment) from 1½ through 9 months of age. Thus, a stepwise layering of social, physical, and enhanced cognitive activity was created. Behavioral evaluation in a full battery of sensorimotor, anxiety, and cognitive tasks was carried out during the final 5 weeks of housing. Only AD mice raised in complete enrichment (i.e., enhanced cognitive activity) showed: (1) protection against cognitive impairment, (2) decreased brain β-amyloid deposition, and (3) increased hippocampal synaptic immunoreactivity. The protection provided by enhanced cognitive activity spanned multiple cognitive domains (working memory, reference learning, and recognition/identification). Cognitive and neurohistologic benefits of complete enrichment occurred without any changes in blood cytokine or corticosterone levels, suggesting that enrichment-dependent mechanisms do not involve changes in the inflammatory response or stress levels, respectively. These results indicate that the enhanced cognitive activity of complete enrichment is required for cognitive and neurologic benefit to AD mice—physical and/or social activity are insufficient. Thus, our data suggest that humans who emphasize a high lifelong level of cognitive activity (over and above social and physical activities) will attain the maximal environmental protection against AD.

Relation of cognitive activity to risk of developing Alzheimer disease

Frequent cognitive activity in old age has been associated with reduced risk of Alzheimer disease (AD), but the basis of the association is uncertain. More than 700 old people underwent annual clinical evaluations for up to 5 years. At baseline, they rated current and past frequency of cognitive activity with the current activity measure administered annually thereafter. Those who died underwent a uniform postmortem examination of the brain. Amyloid burden, density of tangles, and presence of Lewy bodies were assessed in eight brain regions and the number of chronic cerebral infarctions was noted. During follow-up, 90 people developed AD. More frequent participation in cognitive activity was associated with reduced incidence of AD (HR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.77); a cognitively inactive person (score = 2.2, 10th percentile) was 2.6 times more likely to develop AD than a cognitively active person (score = 4.0, 90th percentile). The association remained after controlling for past cognitive activity, lifespan socioeconomic status, current social and physical activity, and low baseline cognitive function. Frequent cognitive activity was also associated with reduced incidence of mild cognitive impairment and less rapid decline in cognitive function. Among 102 persons who died and had a brain autopsy, neither global nor regionally specific measures of neuropathology were related to level of cognitive activity before the study, at study onset, or during the course of the study. Level of cognitively stimulating activity in old age is related to risk of developing dementia.

A Content Analytic Comparison of Learning Processes in Online and Face-to-Face Case Study Discussions

While much research has shown that asynchronous learning networks (ALNs) can produce learning equivalent to face-to-face (FTF) classrooms, there has been little research that explicitly explores similarities and differences between the learning processes that occur in ALN and FTF activities. This study used a content analytic framework (derived primarily from previous work of Anderson, Archer, Garrison, and Rourke) to analyze transcripts from eight case study discussions, four FTF and four ALN. While previous authors developed a model that studies cognitive, social, and teaching processes in ALN discussions, the current scheme also considers characteristics of the discourse process. The findings provide evidence that ALNs generate high levels of cognitive activity, at least equal to, and in some cases superior to, the cognitive processes in the FTF classroom. The findings also suggest that students assume some aspects of the teacher's role in ALNs, and that student-to-student interactions contain a greater proportion of high-level cognitive indicators than do student-to-teacher interactions.

1=2: When a Singular Experience Leads to Dissociated Evaluations

This research examines how a single experience with a salesperson can lead to the formation of dual representations of the salesperson resulting in opposing spontaneous and deliberative affective responses and dissociated evaluations. Consumers may either use their spontaneous affective reactions to form an evaluation or may respond more deliberately using information that contradicts this initial affect. As a result, they can hold 2 evaluations of the same salesperson—one that is more spontaneously generated and one that is more deliberate. The 2 cognitive bases for these evaluations can coexist in memory even when they are opposite in valence, and consumers switch back and forth between the 2 evaluations, depending on the level of cognitive activity in which they engage.

Psychophysiologically Determined Classification of Cognitive Activity

Psychophysiological measures and artificial neural networks were used to determine how well higher levels of cognitive activity, such as executive function, spatial and verbal working memory and global workload, could be assessed. A complex uninhabited air vehicle simulator was used in which subjects were responsible for four vehicles simultaneously. The subjects had to evaluate visual images and maintain the status of the vehicles. The results showed that the cognitive states, derived from subjective reports, could be accurately classified. These results have application in human factors environments which demand higher level cognitive processing and may be useful when implementing adaptive aiding in these systems.

Distress proneness and cognitive decline in a population of older persons

The association between distress proneness and cognitive decline was examined in older residents of a biracial community in Chicago. At baseline, participants completed four cognitive tests that yielded a global measure (baseline mean=101.2; standard deviation (SD)=7.8), and a brief measure of the tendency to experience negative emotions (mean=16.5; SD=6.7) based on the Neuroticism scale of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Cognitive testing was repeated twice at three-year intervals. In mixed models that controlled age, sex, race, and education, for each point on the distress proneness scale, global cognitive score was 0.12 unit lower at baseline (p<0.001) and annual rate of decline increased by 0.01 unit (p=0.002), or about 2%. Thus, cognitive decline was about 30% faster in a person highly prone to distress (score=24, 90th percentile) compared to the one low in distress proneness (score=9, 10th percentile). This effect was unchanged after controlling for level of cognitive activity or excluding people with cognitive impairment at baseline, but it was reduced to a trend (p=0.059) after controlling for depressive symptoms. The results suggest that the tendency to experience psychological distress is associated with increased cognitive decline in old age.

Engineering-based processes and agile methodologies for software development: a comparative case study

The emergence of various software development methodologies raises the need to evaluate and compare their efficiencies. One way of performing such a comparison is to have different teams apply different process models in the implementation of multiple versions of common specifications. This study defines a new cognitive activity classification scheme which has been used to record the effort expended by six student teams producing parallel implementations of the same software requirements specifications. Three of the teams used a process based on the Unified Process for Education (UPEDU), a teaching-oriented process derived from the Rational Unified Process. The other three teams used a process built around the principles of the Extreme Programming (XP) methodology. Important variations in effort at the cognitive activity level between teams shows that the classification could scarcely be used without categorization at a higher level. However, the relative importance of a category of activities aimed at defining “active” behaviour was shown to be almost constant for all teams involved, possibly showing a fundamental behaviour pattern. As secondary observations, aggregate variations by process model tend to be small and limited to a few activities, and coding-related activities dominate the effort distribution for all the teams.

The differentiated classroom observation scale

This article presents a new classroom observation scale that was developed to examine the differential learning activities and experiences of gifted children educated in regular classroom settings. The Differentiated Classroom Observation Scale (DCOS) is presented in total, with clarification of the coding practices and strategies. Although the DCOS was developed to examine the impact of differentiated classroom practices for gifted children, it is expected that the scale could be used for observing the educational experiences of any identifiable group of children. Reflections on the benefits offered by the DCOS that are not available with existing measures are provided, and include (a) the ability to contrast the educational experiences of two groups of learners; (b) documentation of a variety of educational factors including pedagogy, student engagement, and level of cognitive activity; and (c) preservation of contextual factors for deeper investigation through a database‐driven record keeping system that maintains disaggregated data from a series of short observational segments.

Refractive error, cognitive demand and nearwork-induced transient myopia

Purpose. Whereas many previous studies have identified the association between sustained near work and myopia, few have assessed the influence of concomitant levels of cognitive effort. This study investigates the effect of cognitive effort on near-work induced transient myopia (NITM). Methods. Subjects comprised of six early onset myopes (EOM; mean age 23.7 yrs; mean onset 10.8 yrs), six late-onset myopes (LOM; mean age 23.2 yrs; mean onset 20.0 yrs) and six emmetropes (EMM; mean age 23.8 yrs). Dynamic, monocular, ocular accommodation was measured with the Shin-Nippon SRW-5000 autorefractor. Subjects engaged passively or actively in a 5 minute arithmetic sum checking task presented monocularly on an LCD monitor via a Badal optical system. In all conditions the task was initially located at near (4.50 D) and immediately following the task instantaneously changed to far (0.00 D) for a further 5 minutes. The combinations of active (A) and passive (P) cognition were randomly allocated as P:P; A:P; A:A; P:A. Results. For the initial near task, LOMs were shown to have a significantly less accurate accommodative response than either EOMs or EMMs (p < 0.001). For the far task, post hoc analyses for refraction identified EOMs as demonstrating significant NITM compared to LOMs (p < 0.05), who in turn showed greater NITM than EMMs (p < 0.001). The data show that for EOMs the level of cognitive activity operating during the near and far tasks determines the persistence of NITM; persistence being maximal when active cognition at near is followed by passive cognition at far. Conclusions. Compared with EMMs, EOMs and LOMs are particularly susceptible to NITM such that sustained near vision reduces subsequent accommodative accuracy for far vision. It is speculated that the marked NITM found in EOM may be a consequence of the crystalline lens thinning shown to be a developmental feature of EOM. Whereas the role of small amounts of retinal defocus in myopigenesis remains equivocal, the results show that account needs to be taken of cognitive demand in assessing phenomena such as NITM.