Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T07:11:38.384Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of Cognitive Training on Cognitive Performance of Healthy Older Adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 September 2017

Mariana Teles Santos Golino ,
Carmen Flores Mendoza  and
Hudson Fernandes Golino
Mariana Teles Santos Golino*
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal da Bahia (Brazil)
Carmen Flores Mendoza
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil)
Hudson Fernandes Golino
Affiliation:
University of Virginia (USA)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Mariana Teles Santos Golino. Universidade Federal da Bahia. Psychology. Rua Rio de Contas, Quadra 17–58, Candeias, Vitória da Conquista, Bahia (Brazil). 45029–094. Phone: +55–77981199702. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the immediate effects of cognitive training on healthy older adults and verify the transfer effects of targeted and non-targeted abilities. The design consisted of a semi-randomized clinical controlled trial. The final sample was composed of 80 volunteers recruited from a Brazilian community (mean age = 69.69; SD = 7.44), which were separated into an intervention group (N = 47; mean age = 69.66, SD = 7.51) and a control group (N = 33; mean age = 69.73, SD = 7.45). Intervention was characterized by adaptive cognitive training with 12 individual training sessions of 60 to 90 minutes (once a week). Eight instruments were used to assess effects of cognitive training. Five were used to assess trained abilities (near effects), including: Memorization Tests (List and History), Picture Completion, Digit Span, Digit Symbol-Coding, and Symbol Search (the last four from WAIS-III). Two instruments assessed untrained abilities (far effects): Arithmetic and Matrix Reasoning (WAIS-III). The non-parametric repeated measures ANOVA test revealed a significant interaction between group by time interaction for Picture Completion [F(74) = 14.88, p = .0002, d = 0.90, CLES = 73.69%], Digit Symbol-Coding [F(74) = 5.66, p = .019, d = 0.55, CLES = 65.21%] and Digit Span [F(74) = 5.38, p = .02, d = 0.54, CLES = 64.85%], suggesting an interventional impact on these performance tasks. The results supported near transfer effects, but did not demonstrate a far transfer effects.

Keywords

agingBrazilcognitive trainingintelligence
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 20 , 2017 , E39
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

How to cite this article:

Santos Golino, M. T., Flores Mendoza, C., & Fernandes Golino, H. (2017). Effects of cognitive training on cognitive performance of healthy older adults. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 20. eXX. Doi: 10.1017/sjp.2017.38

References

Almeida, O. P., & Almeida, S. A. (1999). Confiabilidade da versão brasileira da Escala de Depressão Geriátrica (GDS) versão reduzida [Reliability of the Brazilian version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) short version]. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 57, 421–426. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X1999000300013 Google Scholar
Auffray, C., & Juhel, J. (2001). General and differential effects of a multimodal cognitive training program for the elderly. Annee Psychologique, 101(1), 65–89.Google Scholar
Baguley, T. (2012). Dealing with messy data. In Baguley, T. (Ed.), Serious stats: A guide to advanced statistics for the behavioral sciences (pp. 349–358). Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave.Google Scholar
Bahar-Fuchs, A., Clare, L., & Woods, B. (2013). Cognitive training and cognitive rehabilitation for mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. The Cochrane Library, 6, Art. No.: CD003260. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD003260.pub2 Google Scholar
Bailey, H., Dunlosky, J., & Hertzog, C. (2010). Metacognitive training at home: Does it improve older adults’ learning? Gerontology, 56, 414–420. https://doi.org/10.1159/000266030 Google Scholar
Baltes, P. B., & Willis, S. L. (1982). Plasticity and enhancement of intellectual functioning in old age. Penn State’s Adult Development and Enrichment Project (ADEPT). In Craik, F. I. M. & Trehulo, S. (Eds.), Aging and cognitive processes (pp. 353–389). New York, NY: Plenum Press.Google Scholar
Basak, C., Boot, W. R., Voss, M. W., & Kramer, A. F. (2008). Can training in a real-time strategy video game attenuate cognitive decline in older adults? Psychology and Aging, 23, 765–777. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013494 Google Scholar
Belleville, S., Gilbert, B., Fontaine, F., Gagnon, L., Ménard, É., & Gauthier, S. (2006). Improvement of episodic memory in persons with mild cognitive impairment and healthy older adults: Evidence from a cognitive intervention program. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders, 22, 486–499. https://doi.org/10.1159/000096316 Google Scholar
Belleville, S. (2008). Cognitive training for persons with mild cognitive impairment. International Psychogeriatrics, 20(1), 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1017/S104161020700631X Google Scholar
Berry, A. S., Zanto, T. P., Clapp, W. C., Hardy, J. L., Delahunt, P. B., Mahncke, H. W., & Gazzaley, A. (2010). The influence of perceptual training on working memory in older adults. PloS One, 5, e11537. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011537 Google Scholar
Borella, E., Carretti, B., Riboldi, F., & De Beni, R. (2010). Working memory training in older adults: Evidence of transfer and maintenance effects. Psychology and Aging, 25, 767–778. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020683 Google Scholar
Bottiroli, S., & Cavallini, E. (2009). Can computer familiarity regulate the benefits of computer-based memory training in normal aging? A study with an Italian sample of older adults. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 16, 401–418. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825580802691763 Google Scholar
Bugos, J. A., Perlstein, W. M., McCrae, C. S., Brophy, T. S., & Bedenbaugh, P. H. (2007). Individualized piano instruction enhances executive functioning and working memory in older adults. Aging and Mental Health, 11, 464–471. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860601086504 Google Scholar
Buschkuehl, M., & Jaeggi, S. M. (2010). Improving intelligence: A literature review. Swiss Medical Weekly, 140, 266–272.Google Scholar
Brucki, S. M. D., Nitrini, R., Caramelli, P., Bertolucci, P. H. F., & Okamoto, I. H. (2003). Sugestões para o uso do Mini-exame do Estado Mental no Brasil [Suggestions for using the Mini Mental State Exam in Brazil]. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 61, 777–781. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2003000500014 Google Scholar
Cavallini, E., Dunlosky, J., Bottiroli, S., Hertzog, C., & Vecchi, T. (2010). Promoting transfer in memory training for older adults. Aging Clinical and Experimental Research, 22, 314–323. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03337728 Google Scholar
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd Ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Cheng, Y., Wu, W., Feng, W., Wang, J., Chen, Y., Shen, Y., … Li, C. (2012). The effects of multi-domain versus single-domain cognitive training in non demented older people: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Medicine, 10, 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-10-30 Google Scholar
Fabre, C., Chamari, K., Mucci, P., Masse-Biron, J., & Prefaut, C. (2002). Improvement of cognitive function by mental and/or individualized aerobic training in healthy elderly subjects. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 23, 415–421. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2002-33735 Google Scholar
Fairchild, J. K., & Scogin, F. R. (2010). Training to Enhance Adult Memory (TEAM): An investigation of the effectiveness of a memory training program with older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 14, 364–373. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607860903311733 Google Scholar
Folstein, M. F., Folstein, S. E., McHugh, P. R (1975). Mini-mental State: A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 189–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6 Google Scholar
Del Re, A. C. (2013). Compute.es: Compute Effect Sizes. R Package Version 0.2-2. Retrieved from https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/compute.es Google Scholar
Gates, N. J., Sachdev, P. S., Singh, M. A. F., & Valenzuela, M. (2011). Cognitive and memory training in adults at risk of dementia: A systematic review. BMC Geriatrics, 11, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2318-11-55 Google Scholar
Golino, M. T. S., & Flores-Mendoza, C. E. (2016). Development of a cognitive training program for the elderly. Revista Brasileira de Geriatria e Gerontologia, 19, 769–785. https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-98232016019.150144 Google Scholar
Green, C. S., Strobach, T., & Schubert, T. (2014). On methodological standards in training and transfer experiments. Psychological Research, 78, 756–772. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-013-0535-3 Google Scholar
Hertzog, C., Kramer, A. F., Wilson, R. S., & Lindenberger, U. (2008). Enrichment effects on adult cognitive development: Can the functional capacity of older adults be preserved and enhanced? Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(1), 1–65. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01034.x Google Scholar
Karbach, J., & Verhaegen, P. (2014). Making working memory work: A meta-analysis of executive-control and working memory training in older adults. Psychological Science, 25, 2027–2037. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614548725 Google Scholar
Kelly, M. E., Loughrey, D., Lawlor, B. A., Robertson, I. H., Walsh, C., & Brennan, S. (2014). The impact of cognitive training and mental stimulation on cognitive and everyday functioning of healthy older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ageing research reviews, 15, 28–43.Google Scholar
Kramer, A. F., & Willis, S. L. (2003). Cognitive plasticity and aging. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 43, 267–302. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0079-7421(03)01016-8 Google Scholar
Law, L. L. F., Barnett, F., Yau, M. K., & Gray, M. A. (2014). Effects of combined cognitive and exercise interventions on cognition in older adults with and without cognitive impairment: A systematic review. Ageing Research Review, 15, 61–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2014.02.008 Google Scholar
Mahncke, H. W., Connor, B. B., Appelman, J., Ahsanuddin, O. N., Hardy, J. L., Wood, R. A., … Merzenich, M. M. (2006). Memory enhancement in healthy older adults using a brain plasticity-based training program: A randomized, controlled study. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 12523–12528. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0605194103 Google Scholar
Martin, M., Clare, L., Altsgassen, A. M., Cameron, M. H., & Zehnder, F. (2011). Cognition-based interventions for healthy older people and people with mild cognitive impairment. The Cochrane Library, 1, 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD006220.pub2 Google Scholar
McGraw, K. O., & Wong, S. P. (1992). A common language effect size statistic. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 361–365. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.111.2.361 Google Scholar
Moody, D. E. (2009). Can intelligence be increased by training on a task of working memory? Intelligence, 37, 327–328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2009.04.005 Google Scholar
Mozolic, J. L., Long, A. B., Morgan, A. R., Rawley-Payne, M., & Laurienti, P. J. (2011). A cognitive training intervention improves modality-specific attention in a randomized controlled trial of healthy older adults. Neurobiology of Aging, 32, 655–668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2009.04.013 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nascimento, E. (2004). Escala de Inteligência Wechsler para Adultos – manual para administração e avaliação [Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - administration and assessment guide] In Wechsler, D. (Ed.), WAIS-III: Manual para administração e avaliação [WAIS-III: administration and assessment guide]. São Paulo, Brasil: Casa do Psicólogo.Google Scholar
O’Bryant, S. E., Humphreys, J. D., Smith, G. E., Ivnik, R. J., Graff-Radford, N. R., Petersen, R. C., & Lucas, J. A. (2008). Detecting dementia with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in highly educated individuals. Archives of Neurology, 65, 963–967. https://doi.org/10.1001/archneur.65.7.963 Google Scholar
Papp, K. V., Stephen, J. W., & Peter, J. S. (2009). Immediate and delayed of cognitive interventions in healthy elderly: A review of current literature and future directions. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 5, 50–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jalz.2008.10.008 Google Scholar
R Core Team (2012). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.Rproject.org/ Google Scholar
Rebok, G. W., Ball, K., Guey, L. T., Jones, R. N., Kim, H. Y., King, J. W., … Willis, S. L. (2014). Ten-year effects of the advanced cognitive training for independent and vital elderly cognitive training trial on cognition and everyday functioning in older adult. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 62, 21–31. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.12607 Google Scholar
Reijnders, J., van Heugten, C., & van Boxtel, M. (2013). Cognitive interventions in healthy older adults and people with mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review. Aging Research Review, 12, 263–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2012.07.003 Google Scholar
Richmond, L. L., Morrison, A. B., Chein, J. M., & Olson, I. R. (2011). Working memory training and transfer in older adults. Psychology and Aging, 26, 813. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023631 Google Scholar
Salthouse, T. A. (2006). Mental exercise and mental aging: Evaluating the validity of the ‘‘use it or lose it’’ hypothesis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 1, 68–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6916.2006.00005.x Google Scholar
Schaie, K. W., & Willis, S. L. (1986). Can decline in adult intellectual functioning be reversed? Development Psychology, 22, 223–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.22.2.223 Google Scholar
Shubert, T., Strobach, T., & Karbach, J. (2014). New directions in cognitive training: On methods, transfer and applications. Psychological Research, 78, 749–755.Google Scholar
Simon, S. S., Yokomizo, J. E., & Bottino, C. M. C. (2012). Cognitive intervention in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A systematic review. Neuroscience and Behavioral Reviews, 36, 1163–1178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.01.007 Google Scholar
Smith, G. E., Housen, P., Yaffe, K., Ruff, R., Kennison, R. F., Mahncke, H. W., & Zelinski, E. M. (2009). A cognitive training program based on principles of brain plasticity: Results from the Improvement in Memory with Plasticity-based Adaptive Cognitive Training (IMPACT) Study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 57, 594–603. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.02167.x Google Scholar
Tardif, S., & Simard, M (2011). Cognitive stimulation programs in healthy elderly: A review. International Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 5, 1–13. https://dx.doi.org/10.4061/2011/378934 Google Scholar
Tranter, L. J., & Koutstaal, W. (2008). Age and flexible thinking: An experimental demonstration of the beneficial effects of increased cognitively stimulating activity on fluid intelligence in healthy older adults. Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition, 15, 184–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/13825580701322163 Google Scholar
Valenzuela, M., & Sachdev, P. (2009). Can cognitive exercise prevent the onset dementia? Systematic review of randomized clinical trials with longitudinal follow-up. American. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17, 179–187. https://doi.org/10.1097/JGP.0b013e3181953b57 Google Scholar
Verhaeghen, P., Marcoen, A., & Goossens, L. (1992). Improving memory performance in the aged through mnemonic training: A meta-analytic study. Psychology and Aging, 7(2), 242–251.Google Scholar
Yassuda, M. S., Lasca, V. B., & Neri, A. L. (2005). Meta-memória e auto-eficácia: Um estudo de validação de instrumentos de pesquisa sobre memória e envelhecimento [Metamemory and self-efficacy: A validation study of research tools on memory and aging]. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 18(1), 78–90. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0102-79722005000100011 Google Scholar
Yesavage, J. A., Brink, T. L., Rose, T. L., Lum, O., Huang, V., Adey, M., & Leirer, V. O. (1983). Development and validation of a geriatric depression screening scale: A preliminary report. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 17, 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3956(82)90033-4 Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (2004). WAIS-III: Manual técnico [WAIS-III: Guide]. São Paulo, Brazil: Casa do Psicólogo.Google Scholar
Willis, S. L., Tennstedt, S. L., Marsiske, M., Ball, K., Elias, J., Koepke, K. M., … Wright, E. (2006). Long-term effects of cognitive training on everyday functional outcomes in older adults. JAMA, 296, 2805–2814. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.296.23.2805 Google Scholar