A Case Study of the Long-Lasting Effects of Cognitive Training on Similar Tasks in Alzheimer’s Disease

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (10) ◽  
pp. 1215-1224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Cavallo ◽  
Chiara Angilletta
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Optimization Task ◽  
Control Intervention ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Over Time

Objective: Cognitive training allows patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to reinforce their cognitive abilities. Here, we investigated the generalizability of trained skills to novel tasks, and their stability over time. Method: One patient underwent a structured cognitive training using the GEO (Geographical Exercise for cognitive Optimization) task, whereas 10 patients underwent a control intervention. Participants’ performances on the GEO task, on a similar untrained task, and on a different untrained task were recorded before and after the intervention, and at the 24-month follow-up. Results: On both the trained and the similar untrained tasks, patient’s and controls’ performance significantly differed from one another, with trained patient showing a significant acquirement of procedural skills that were maintained over time. Conclusion: Our preliminary evidence showed that a cognitive training could allow patients to acquire and maintain new skills not only on performing a trained task but surprisingly also on a similar untrained task.

scholarly journals The Effect of Baseline Performance and Age on Cognitive Training Improvements in Older Adults: A Qualitative Review

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
J.S. Shaw ◽  
S.M.H. Hosseini
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Baseline Performance

Findings that the brain is capable of plasticity up until old age have led to interest in the use of cognitive training as a potential intervention to delay the onset of dementia. However, individuals participating in training regimens differ greatly with respect to their outcomes, demonstrating the importance of considering individual differences, in particular age and baseline performance in a cognitive domain, when evaluating the effectiveness of cognitive training. In this review, we summarize existing literature on cognitive training in adults across the domains of episodic memory, working memory and the task-switching component of executive functioning to clarify the picture on the impact of age and baseline performance on cognitive training-related improvements. Studies targeting episodic memory induced greater improvements in younger adults with more intact cognitive abilities, explained in part by factors specific to episodic memory training. By contrast, older, lower baseline performance adults improved most in several studies targeting working memory in older individuals as well as in the majority of studies targeting executive functioning, suggesting the preservation of neural plasticity in these domains until very old age. Our findings can have important implications for informing the design of future interventions for enhancing cognitive functions in individuals at the prodromal stage of Alzheimer’s Disease and potentially delaying the clinical onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. Future research should more clearly stratify individuals according to their baseline cognitive abilities and assign specialized, skill-specific cognitive training regimens in order to directly answer the question of how individual differences impact training effectiveness.

scholarly journals Cognitive Training Modulates Brain Hypersynchrony in a Population at Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Suárez-Méndez ◽  
Ricardo Bruña ◽  
David López-Sanz ◽  
Pedro Montejo Carrasco ◽  
Mercedes Montenegro-Peña ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Phase Locking ◽  
Cognitive Status ◽  
Subjective Cognitive Decline ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Preclinical Ad ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Before And After

Abstract BackgroundRecent neuroimaging studies in humans and animal models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) demonstrated brain hyper-synchrony under amyloid burden, which is being identified as a proxy for conversion to dementia. The potential of non-pharmacological interventions to reverse this neurophysiological phenomenon in the early stages of the disease is still an open question. MethodBrain synchrony modulation by cognitive training (CogTr) was examined in a cohort of healthy controls (HC, n = 41, 22 trained) and individuals with subjective cognitive decline (SCD, n = 49, 24 trained). Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) activity and comprehensive neuropsychological scores were acquired before and after completion of a ten-week CogTr program aimed at improving cognitive function and daily living performance. Functional connectivity (FC) analyses were carried out using the phase-locking value. A mixed-effects ANOVA with factors stage (pre-intervention or post-intervention), CogTr (trained or non-trained), and cognitive status (HC or SCD) was used to estimate significant FC changes across MEG recordings.ResultsAlpha-band FC increases were observed for the whole sample (both trained and non-trained), but the effect was different in each group. For the trained group (both HC and SCD), we report a reduction in the FC increase within temporo-parietal and temporo-occipital connections. This effect was particularly manifest in trained participants with SCD, for whom the reduction in the FC increase also correlated with enhanced cognitive performance in different neuropsychological domains (memory, language, and executive function).ConclusionsCogTr programs could mitigate the increase in FC observed in preclinical AD, promoting brain synchrony normalization in groups at increased risk for developing the disease.

Cognitive Training in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease: Findings of a 12-month Randomized Controlled Trial

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Trebbastoni ◽  
Letizia Imbriano ◽  
Livia Podda ◽  
Lidia Rendace ◽  
Maria Luisa Sacchett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Treated Group ◽  
Pharmacological Intervention ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Over Time

Background: Cognitive training (CT) is a non-pharmacological intervention based on a set of tasks that reflect specific cognitive functions. CT is aimed at improving cognition in patients with cognitive impairment, though no definitive conclusions have yet been drawn on its efficacy in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a CT program designed to improve cognition in AD patients. Method: This is a randomized, controlled, single-blind, longitudinal trial with a no-treatment control condition in mild-to-moderate AD. Treated patients received in-group CT twice a week for six months, whereas controls did not. CT consisted of tasks ranging from paper-and-pencil to verbal-learning exercises. Participants' cognitive levels were assessed at baseline, post-intervention and 6 months later by means of a complete neuropsychological test battery. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to analyze the effect of time on the outcome measures, as well as to compare treated and untreated patients over time, with demographic data considered as covariates. Results: Of the 140 patients enrolled, 45 in the treated group and 85 controls concluded the study. The CT significantly improved treated subjects' cognitive functions immediately after the CT. Six months later, some test scores remained stable when compared with those obtained at baseline. The control group performed significantly worse than the treated group at each time-point, displaying a progressive cognitive decline over time. Conclusion: Our results suggest that CT may improve cognitive functions in patients with AD and may help to temporarily slow their cognitive decline.

“Keep up the good work!”: A case study of the effects of a specific cognitive training in Alzheimer’s disease

Neurocase ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 542-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Cavallo ◽  
Andrea Eugenio Cavanna ◽  
Michal Harciarek ◽  
Harriet Johnston ◽  
Luca Ostacoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Good Work

scholarly journals Cognitive training and brain stimulation in prodromal Alzheimer’s disease (AD-Stim)—study protocol for a double-blind randomized controlled phase IIb (monocenter) trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Friederike Thams ◽  
Anna Kuzmina ◽  
Malte Backhaus ◽  
Shu-Chen Li ◽  
Ulrike Grittner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Decline ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Anodal Tdcs ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Control Intervention ◽  
Prodromal Ad

Abstract Background Given the growing older population worldwide, and the associated increase in age-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), investigating non-invasive methods to ameliorate or even prevent cognitive decline in prodromal AD is highly relevant. Previous studies suggest transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to be an effective method to boost cognitive performance, especially when applied in combination with cognitive training in healthy older adults. So far, no studies combining tDCS concurrent with an intense multi-session cognitive training in prodromal AD populations have been conducted. Methods The AD-Stim trial is a monocentric, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, including a 3-week tDCS-assisted cognitive training with anodal tDCS over left DLPFC (target intervention), compared to cognitive training plus sham (control intervention). The cognitive training encompasses a letter updating task and a three-stage Markov decision-making task. Forty-six participants with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) will be randomized block-wise to either target or control intervention group and participate in nine interventional visits with additional pre- and post-intervention assessments. Performance in the letter updating task after training and anodal tDCS compared to sham stimulation will be analyzed as primary outcome. Further, performance on the second training task and transfer tasks will be investigated. Two follow-up visits (at 1 and 7 months post-training) will be performed to assess possible maintenance effects. Structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be applied before the intervention and at the 7-month follow-up to identify possible neural predictors for successful intervention. Significance With this trial, we aim to provide evidence for tDCS-induced improvements of multi-session cognitive training in participants with SCD and MCI. An improved understanding of tDCS effects on cognitive training performance and neural predictors may help to develop novel approaches to counteract cognitive decline in participants with prodromal AD. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04265378. Registered on 07 February 2020. Retrospectively registered. Protocol version: Based on BB 004/18 version 1.2 (May 17, 2019). Sponsor: University Medicine Greifswald.

scholarly journals Music Stimulation as a Method of Optimizing Autobiographical Memory in Patients Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (5) ◽  
pp. 678-687
Author(s):  
Ariana Pone-Pardo ◽  
Pamela Acosta-Rodas ◽  
Jorge Cruz-Cárdenas ◽  
Carlos Ramos-Galarza
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Autobiographical Memory ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Semantic Component ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Autobiographic Memory ◽  
The Impact ◽  
With Memory

Alzheimer’s is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive deterioration of cognitive functions, with memory being the most affected. Several studies have shown the benefits of music as a complementary treatment for dementia, improving patients’ quality of life. A scientific contribution is needed to show how autobiographic memory could be improved by using musical activities. Objective: The aim of this investigation is to analyze the impact of a musical stimulation protocol on the performance of autobiographical memory in elderly people suffering from Alzheimer’s. Participants and Method: This research was conducted with three patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease: two females (66.7%), and one male (33.3%). One (33.3%) was in the early stages, and two were in the middle stages. This investigation used a quantitative, pre-experimental, longitudinal study with the application of two tests before and after the intervention. Findings: Changes in the performance of autobiographical memory (t=-5.79, p=0.002), and in the semantic component (t=-10.14, p=0.01) were found to be statistically significant, but no changes were evident for episodic memory (t=-0.19, p=0.86). Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence of the potential effectiveness of using a music protocol to improve the performance of autobiographical memory in patients with Alzheimer's Disease. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-01304 Full Text: PDF

scholarly journals Neuropsychological Rehabilitation in Mild and Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease Patients

2007 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 225-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Ávila ◽  
Isabel A. M. Carvalho ◽  
Cássio M.C. Bottino ◽  
Eliane C. Miotto
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Neuropsychological Tests ◽  
Daily Living ◽  
Psychiatric Symptoms ◽  
Neuropsychological Rehabilitation ◽  
Elderly Outpatients ◽  
Before And After ◽  
At Home

Objective:The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of a neuropsychological rehabilitation (NR) program on patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).Methods:The sample was composed of 16 elderly outpatients who participated in an open trial with rivastigmine (6 to 12 mg/day) for 4 months and were randomized to 3 different groups: 1. group NR (N= 5), 2. individualized NR (N= 6) and 3. NR at home under supervision of a relative or caregiver (N= 5). All 3 groups fulfilled the same NR protocol consisting of a once a week session. Just before and after the 22 week period of rehabilitation, all patients were evaluated using psychiatric and functional scales, and neuropsychological tests by interviewers that did not participate in the cognitive training.Results:The intervention did not produce any statistically significant change, but small gains were observed on some cognition tests, activities of daily living (ADL), and psychiatric symptoms in groups 1 and 2.Conclusion:Group NR is recommended for reducing psychiatric symptoms, and individualized NR for improving ADL. NR at home either has no associated benefits, or the training sessions were not appropriately conducted by the caregiver. However, additional research with larger samples is necessary to confirm these observations.

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