Benefits of training working memory in amnestic mild cognitive impairment: specific and transfer effects

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Carretti ◽  
Erika Borella ◽  
Silvia Fostinelli ◽  
Michela Zavagnin

ABSTRACTBackground:A growing number of studies are attempting to understand how effective cognitive interventions may be for patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), particularly in relation to their memory problems.Methods:The present study aimed to explore the benefits of a working memory (WM) training program in aMCI patients. Patients (N= 20) were randomly assigned to two training programs: the experimental group practiced with a verbal WM task, while the active control group conducted educational activities on memory.Results:Results showed that the aMCI patients completing the WM training obtained specific gains in the task trained with some transfer effects on other WM measures (visuospatial WM) and on processes involved in or related to WM, e.g. fluid intelligence (the Cattell test) and long-term memory. This was not the case for the aMCI control group, who experienced only a very limited improvement.Conclusion:This pilot study suggests that WM training could be a valuable method for improving cognitive performance in aMCI patients, possibly delaying the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. S262-S262
Author(s):  
Emma Rodriguez-Noriega ◽  
Mikel Olabarrieta ◽  
Francesc Pujadas ◽  
Marta Ibarria ◽  
Diana Liebana ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (S1) ◽  
pp. 91-91

AUTHORS:Kerstin Johansson, Karolina Thömkvist, Ingmar Skoog and Sacuiu SF* (*presenter)OBJECTIVE:To determine the effects of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in major depression in relation to the development of dementia during long-term follow-up.METHOD:In an observational clinical prospective study of consecutive patients 70 years and older diagnosed with major depression at baseline 2000-2004 (n=1090), who were free of dementia and received antidepressant treatment, with or without ECT, we sought to determine if cognitive decline (mild cognitive impairment and dementia) during 15 -year follow-up was associated with receiving ECT at baseline. The control group was selected among the participants in the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies matched by age group and sex 1:1.RESULTS:Among patients with affective syndromes 7% received ECT. During follow-up, 157 patients were diagnosed with dementia, equal proportions among those who received ECT (14.5%) and those who did not receive ECT (14.5%). The relation between ECT and cognitive decline remained non-significant irrespective antidepressive medication or presence of mild cognitive impairment at baseline.CONCLUSION:Preliminary results indicate that ECT was not associated with the development of cognitive decline in the long-term in a hospital-based cohort of 70+ year-olds. The results remain to verify against controls from a representative community sample.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Galit Yogev-Seligmann ◽  
Tamir Eisenstein ◽  
Elissa Ash ◽  
Nir Giladi ◽  
Haggai Sharon ◽  
...  

Background: Aerobic training has been shown to promote structural and functional neurocognitive plasticity in cognitively intact older adults. However, little is known about the neuroplastic potential of aerobic exercise in individuals at risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia. Objective: We aimed to explore the effect of aerobic exercise intervention and cardiorespiratory fitness improvement on brain and cognitive functions in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI). Methods: 27 participants with aMCI were randomized to either aerobic training (n = 13) or balance and toning (BAT) control group (n = 14) for a 16-week intervention. Pre- and post-assessments included functional MRI experiments of brain activation during associative memory encoding and neural synchronization during complex information processing, cognitive evaluation using neuropsychological tests, and cardiorespiratory fitness assessment. Results: The aerobic group demonstrated increased frontal activity during memory encoding and increased neural synchronization in higher-order cognitive regions such as the frontal cortex and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) following the intervention. In contrast, the BAT control group demonstrated decreased brain activity during memory encoding, primarily in occipital, temporal, and parietal areas. Increases in cardiorespiratory fitness were associated with increases in brain activation in both the left inferior frontal and precentral gyri. Furthermore, changes in cardiorespiratory fitness were also correlated with changes in performance on several neuropsychological tests. Conclusion: Aerobic exercise training may result in functional plasticity of high-order cognitive areas, especially, frontal regions, among older adults at risk of AD and dementia. Furthermore, cardiorespiratory fitness may be an important mediating factor of the observed changes in neurocognitive functions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089198872110064
Author(s):  
Kevin Duff ◽  
Jian Ying ◽  
Kayla R. Suhrie ◽  
Bonnie C.A. Dalley ◽  
Taylor J. Atkinson ◽  
...  

Objective: Computerized cognitive training has been successful in healthy older adults, but its efficacy has been mixed in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Methods: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel clinical trial, we examined the short- and long-term efficacy of a brain-plasticity computerized cognitive training in 113 participants with amnestic MCI. Results: Immediately after 40-hours of training, participants in the active control group who played computer games performed better than those in the experimental group on the primary cognitive outcome (p = 0.02), which was an auditory memory/attention composite score. There were no group differences on 2 secondary outcomes (global cognitive composite and rating of daily functioning). After 1 year, there was no difference between the 2 groups on primary or secondary outcomes. No adverse events were noted. Conclusions: Although the experimental cognitive training program did not improve outcomes in those with MCI, the short-term effects of the control group should not be dismissed, which may alter treatment recommendations for these patients.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 344-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiyu Sun ◽  
Zhijiang Wang ◽  
Lujie Xu ◽  
Xiaozhen Lv ◽  
Quanzheng Li ◽  
...  

It is widely recognized that depression may precipitate the incidence of dementia in the elderly individuals and individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) in particular. However, the association between subthreshold depression (SD) and cognitive deficits in patients with aMCI remains unclear. To address this, we collected demographic information and conducted a battery of neuropsychological cognitive assessments in 33 aMCI participants with SD (aMCI/SD+), 33 nondepressed aMCI participants (aMCI/SD−), and 53 normal controls (NC). Both aMCI groups showed significantly poorer performance in most cognitive domains relative to the NC group (ie, memory, language, processing speed, and executive function). Notably, the aMCI/SD+ group showed significantly poorer attention/working memory compared with the aMCI/SD− group. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed a significant negative association between the severity of depressive symptoms and attention/working memory capacity (β = − .024, P = .024), accounting for 8.28% of the variations in this cognitive domain. All statistical analyses were adjusted by age, sex, and years of education. A logistic regression model had an accuracy of 72.4% in discriminating between the aMCI/SD+ and aMCI/SD− groups based on individual cognitive profiles over 6 domains. Our findings indicate that patients with aMCI with and without SD have distinct patterns of cognitive impairment. This finding may facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of SD in patients with aMCI.


2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (4S_Part_12) ◽  
pp. P357-P357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Laczó ◽  
Kamil Vlček ◽  
Martin Vyhnálek ◽  
Václav MaŤoška ◽  
Irena Buksakowska ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly J. Murphy ◽  
Travis E. Hodges ◽  
Paul A.S. Sheppard ◽  
Angela K. Troyer ◽  
Elizabeth Hampson ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveOlder adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) develop Alzheimer’s type dementia approximately ten times faster annually than the normal population. Adrenal hormones are associated with aging and cognition. We investigated the relationship between acute stress, cortisol, and memory function in aMCI with an exploratory analysis of sex.MethodSalivary cortisol was sampled diurnally and during two test sessions, one session with the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), to explore differences in the relationship between cortisol and memory function in age-normal cognition (NA) and aMCI. Participants with aMCI (n=6 women, 9 men; mean age=75) or similarly aged NA (n=9 women, 7 men, mean age=75) were given tests of episodic, associative, and spatial working memory with a psychosocial stressor (TSST) in the second session.ResultsThe aMCI group performed worse on the memory tests than NA as expected, and males with aMCI had elevated cortisol levels on test days. Immediate episodic memory was enhanced by social stress in NA but not in the aMCI group, indicating that stress-induced alterations in memory are different in individuals with aMCI. High cortisol was associated with impaired performance on episodic memory in aMCI males only. Cortisol in Session 1 moderated the relationship with spatial working memory, whereby higher cortisol was associated with worse performance in NA, but better spatial working memory in aMCI. In addition, effects of aMCI on perceived anxiety in response to stress exposure were moderated by stress-induced cortisol in a sex-specific manner.ConclusionsWe show effects of aMCI on Test Session cortisol levels and effects on perceived anxiety, and stress-induced impairments in memory in males with aMCI in our exploratory sample. Future studies should explore sex as a biological variable as our findings suggests that effects at the confluence of aMCI and stress can be obfuscated without sex as a consideration.


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