scholarly journals Effects of Cognitive and Aerobic training on Working Memory and Executive Function in Aging, a Pseudo-Randomized Trial: Pilot Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 46-70
Author(s):  
Clemence Joubert ◽  
Hanna Chainay
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Physical Training ◽  
Passive Control ◽  
Aerobic Training ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Short Term

Introduction Cognitive and physical (especially aerobic) training have been reported to enhance cognition in the elderly. The goal of this study was to compare the effectiveness of two types of training, namely combined cognitive-and-physical training and cognitive training alone, for cognition and in particular for executive function and working memory. Material and Method Healthy older adults (aged 65–86 years) were included in cognitive-and-physical - CAP (n=16) - or cognitive - COG (n=16) - training groups or in a passive control group – CONT (n=16). The training took place in 60-minute sessions conducted twice a week for 8 weeks. Cognitive functions were assessed before and immediately after the interventions and at a 1-month follow-up. Results In the short-term, the CAP and COG groups showed a transfer on updating, unlike the CONT group. In the long-term, although the gains achieved by both CAP and COG persisted, the benefit observed in the COG group was greater than that in the CAP group. Conclusion Our data suggest that there may be a complementarity between cognitive and physical training effects at the level of short-term transfer, given that physical training was able to boost cognitive training. Moreover, regarding transfer, physical training may help improve performance on untrained tasks. However, as far as the long-term persistence of the benefits of training is concerned, the results tend to indicate the superiority of cognitive training.

scholarly journals Longitudinal impact and effects of booster sessions in a cognitive training program for healthy elderly

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Matias Felix ◽  
Marcela Mansur Alves ◽  
Mariana Teles ◽  
Laura Jamison ◽  
Hudson Golino
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Passive Control ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Longitudinal Impact ◽  
Healthy Older Adults ◽  
Booster Sessions ◽  
Experimental Group

This paper reports the results from a three-years follow-up study to access the long-term efficacy of a cognitive training for healthy older adults and investigates the effects of booster sessions on the cognitive performance of the participants using an innovative analytical approach from information theory. Design: semi-randomized quasi-experimental controlled design. Participants: 50 healthy older adults, (M = 73.3, SD = 7.77) were assigned into an experimental (N = 25; Mean age = 73.9; SD = 8.62) and a passive control group (N = 25; mean age = 72.9; SD = 6.97). Instruments: six subtests of WAIS and two episodic memory tasks. Procedures: the participants were assessed in four occasions: after the end of the original intervention, pre-booster sessions (three years after the original intervention), immediately after the booster sessions and three months after the booster sessions. Results: the repeated measures ANOVA showed that two gains reported in the original intervention were identified in the follow-up: Coding (F(1, 44) = 11.79, MSE = 0.77, p = .001, ηˆG2 = .084) and Picture Completion (F(1, 47) = 10.01, MSE = 0.73, p = .003, ηˆG2 = .060). After the booster sessions, all variables presented a significant interaction between group and time favorable to the experimental group (moderate to high effect sizes). To compare the level of cohesion of the cognitive variables between the groups, an entropy-based metric was used. The experimental group presented a lower level of cohesion in three of the four measurement occasions, suggesting a differential impact of the intervention with immediate and short-term effects, but without long-term effects.

Long-Term Recreational Cannabis Use Is Associated With Lower Executive Function and Processing Speed in a Pilot Sample of Older Adults

2021 ◽  
pp. 089198872110491
Author(s):  
Katie Stypulkowski ◽  
Rachel E. Thayer
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Processing Speed ◽  
Bimodal Distribution ◽  
Cannabis Use ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Small Pilot Study

More older adults are using cannabis for recreational and/or medical purposes, but most studies examining cognitive function and cannabis use do not include older adults. The current small pilot study sought to compare cognitive function and emotional functioning among adults age 60 and older who were regular, primarily recreational cannabis users ( n = 28) and nonusers ( n = 10). A bimodal distribution was observed among cannabis users such that they had either initiated regular use more recently (“short-term” users; ≤7 years, n = 13) or earlier in life (“long-term” users; ≥19 years, n = 15). Nonusers, short-term, and long-term users were not different in depression, anxiety, or emotion regulation, or alcohol use. Nonusers scored significantly higher than long-term users in executive function. Short-term users scored significantly higher than long-term users in executive function, processing speed, and general cognition. Additionally, greater recent cannabis use frequency was negatively associated with working memory. The current findings suggest that short-term recreational cannabis use does not result in differences in cognitive performance compared to nonusers, which may indicate that short-term use is relatively benign in older adults. However, longer duration of use is associated with poorer processing speed and executive functioning, and more recent cannabis use is associated with poorer working memory, which may impact older adults’ overall cognitive functioning.

Cognitive Dysfunctions in Patients with Alcohol Dependence

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
K. Nowakowska ◽  
K. Jabłkowska ◽  
G. Adamiak ◽  
A. Borkowska
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Alcohol Dependence ◽  
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test ◽  
Alcohol Addiction ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Card Sorting ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Logical Concept ◽  
One Year

Background and aim:Alcohol dependence is a chronic disease connected with disorders of the brain. The aim of this study was to assess cognitive frontal cortex functions in patients with alcohol dependence after discontinuation of alcohol use and after at least, one year of abstinence.Methods:106 patients (28 females, 78 males), aged 26 - 57 (mean 43±7,5) years with alcohol dependence were evaluated. In 53 subjects, an assessment was performed seven to ten days after discontinuation of alcohol drinking and in 53 subjects after at least one-year of abstinence. The control group consisted of 53 healthy persons, matched for age, sex and education to patients from the experimental group. The intensity of alcohol addiction was assessed, using SADD and MAST scales. Neuropsychological assessment included frontal tests: Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), N-back Test, TMT A&B, Stroop Test 1&2 and Verbal Fluency Test (FAS).Results:Significant disturbances of working memory and executive functions were noted in patients with alcohol dependence (with short-term and long-term abstinence), in comparison to healthy subjects. No significant differences were observed between the patients with short-term and long-term abstinence on the performance on neuropsychological tests, except better results of TMT B, WCST- the percent of non-perseverance errors and WCST - the percent of reactions compliant with logical concept obtained by the patients with long-term abstinence.Conclusions:The results obtained indicate core and enduring working memory deficits, connected with prefrontal cortex impairment in patients with alcohol addiction, independent from the duration of the abstinence.Acknowledgements:This research was supported by grant 502-16-685 Medical University of Lodz.

Conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) supports core claims of Christiansen and Chater

2016 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Rapid Serial Visual Presentation ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Short Term Memory ◽  
Visual Presentation ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Term Memory ◽  
Use Of Knowledge

AbstractRapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) of words or pictured scenes provides evidence for a large-capacity conceptual short-term memory (CSTM) that momentarily provides rich associated material from long-term memory, permitting rapid chunking (Potter 1993; 2009; 2012). In perception of scenes as well as language comprehension, we make use of knowledge that briefly exceeds the supposed limits of working memory.

scholarly journals The effects of combined cognitive training on prospective memory in older adults with mild cognitive impairment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yifan Chen ◽  
Wei Zhou ◽  
Zijing Hong ◽  
Rongrong Hu ◽  
Zhibin Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Executive Function ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Prospective Memory ◽  
Training Group ◽  
Strategy Training ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Executive Function Training ◽  
Encoding Strategy

AbstractThis study aimed to assess the effects of combined cognitive training on prospective memory ability of older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A total of 113 participants were divided into a control group and three intervention groups. Over three months, the control group received only community education without any training, whereas for the first six weeks, an executive function training group received executive function training, a memory strategy training group received semantic encoding strategy training, and the combined cognitive training group received executive function training twice a week for the first six weeks, and semantic encoding strategy training twice a week for the next six weeks. The combined cognitive training group showed improvement on the objective neuropsychological testing (Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale). The memory strategy training group showed improvement on the self-evaluation scales (PRMQ-PM). Combined cognitive training improved the prospective memory and cognitive function of older adults with MCI.

scholarly journals Effects of multi-domain cognitive training on working memory retrieval in older adults: behavioral and ERP evidence from a Chinese community study

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangfei Hong ◽  
You Chen ◽  
Jijun Wang ◽  
Yuan Shen ◽  
Qingwei Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Training Program ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Training Group ◽  
Event Related Potential ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Baseline Session

AbstractWorking memory (WM) is a fundamental cognitive function that typically declines with age. Previous studies have shown that targeted WM training has the potential to improve WM performance in older adults. In the present study, we investigated whether a multi-domain cognitive training program that was not designed to specifically target WM could improve the behavioral performance and affect the neural activity during WM retrieval in healthy older adults. We assigned healthy older participants (70–78 years old) from a local community into a training group who completed a 3-month multi-domain cognitive training and a control group who only attended health education lectures during the same period. Behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded from participants while performing an untrained delayed match or non-match to category task and a control task at a pre-training baseline session and a post-training follow-up session. Behaviorally, we found that participants in the training group showed a trend toward greater WM performance gains than participants in the control group. Event-related potential (ERP) results suggest that the task-related modulation of P3 during WM retrieval was significantly enhanced at the follow-up session compared with the baseline session, and importantly, this enhancement of P3 modulation was only significant in the training group. Furthermore, no training-related effects were observed for the P2 or N2 component during WM retrieval. These results suggest that the multi-domain cognitive training program that was not designed to specifically target WM is a promising approach to improve WM performance in older adults, and that training-related gains in performance are likely mediated by an enhanced modulation of P3 which might reflect the process of WM updating.

scholarly journals Mitral valve repair versus replacement in the elderly: Short-term and long-term outcomes

2014 ◽  
Vol 148 (4) ◽  
pp. 1400-1406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Puja Gaur ◽  
Tsuyoshi Kaneko ◽  
Siobhan McGurk ◽  
James D. Rawn ◽  
Ann Maloney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mitral Valve ◽  
Mitral Valve Repair ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Valve Repair ◽  
Long Term Outcomes ◽  
Short Term

scholarly journals Efficacy of a bystander intervention for preventing dating violence in Brazilian adolescents: short-term evaluation

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Brito dos Santos ◽  
Sheila Giardini Murta ◽  
Luis Gustavo do Amaral Vinha ◽  
Juliana Silva de Deus
Keyword(s):  
Romantic Relationships ◽  
Dating Violence ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Brazilian Sample ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Short Term Evaluation ◽  
Term Evaluation ◽  
Brazilian Culture

Abstract Peers are the preferred source of help for Brazilian adolescents who experience dating violence. However, they are not always the best informants for effective responses for dealing with situations of violence in romantic relationships among peers. This experimental study aimed to evaluate the short-term efficacy of three aspects of a peer- and bystander approach-based intervention: the intent to offer help, empathy, and bystander attitudes in response to dating violence in a Brazilian sample of adolescents. The study’s participants were 33 adolescents randomized in two groups: experimental group (EG, n = 14) and control group (CG, n = 19). The EG underwent three weekly intervention sessions of 90 min each on the healthy versus violent romantic relationships, the quality of friendship in the peer network, and the role of the bystander, while the CG received no intervention. Evaluations were performed 1 week before and two and half months after the intervention. Statistically significant differences between EG and CG at post-test were not found in intention to help, empathy, and bystander attitudes. Future studies should include evaluations of larger samples and mid- and long-term follow-ups to identify patterns of change over the long term as well as examine barriers to utilization of bystander behaviors by adolescents in Brazilian culture.

Remaking Medicare: The Voucher Myth

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-46
Author(s):  
Jonathan Oberlander
Keyword(s):  
Consumer Choice ◽  
Baby Boom ◽  
Market Competition ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Medicare Beneficiaries ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Medicare Program ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Voucher System

There is growing enthusiasm for transforming Medicare into a voucher system. Advocates claim vouchers would increase the health care choices available to Medicare beneficiaries, reduce the regulatory burden on the federal government, and promote the benefits of fair market competition. In addition, some analysts contend vouchers are the only feasible solution to Medicare's short-term financing problems and the long-term “crisis” of the retirement of the baby-boom generation. The author argues against these claims. Vouchers would not work as advertised by proponents because of the limitations of risk-adjustment methods and unrealistic assumptions about consumer choice. Moreover, the elderly and disabled Medicare population is ill-suited to cope in a competitive insurance system. Implementation of vouchers would therefore pose a threat to both the health of beneficiaries and the stability of the Medicare program. The implications of this analysis for Medicare reform are discussed.

scholarly journals Evaluation of the Policy Effect of China’s Environmental Interview System for Effective Air Quality Governance

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 9006
Author(s):  
Xue Jin ◽  
Ussif Rashid Sumaila ◽  
Kedong Yin ◽  
Zhichao Qi
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Governance ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Interview System

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China formally proposed an environmental interview system in May 2014, which applies pressure on local governments to fulfill their responsibility toward environmental protection by conducting face-to-face public interviews with their officials. In this paper, 48 cities that were publicly interviewed from 2014–2020 were considered the experimental group and 48 cities surrounding them were the control group. First, the dynamic panel model is applied to initially determine the effect of the policy. Then, a regression discontinuity method (Sharp RD) is used to analyze the short-term and long-term effects and compare the reasons for the differences observed among the estimates of various types of samples. Finally, a series of robustness tests were also conducted. The results show that the environmental interview system can improve air quality. However, because an emergency short-term local governance system exists at present, the governance effect is not long-term and, therefore, not sustainable. Therefore, it suggests that the government should continue to improve the environmental interview system, establish an optimal environmental protection incentive mechanism, and encourage local governments to implement environmental protection policies effectively in the long term. The results of the research are of great significance to the environmental impact assessment system of the world, especially in countries with similar economic systems, which are facing a trade-off between economic growth and environmental sustainability.

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