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Late‐life literacy training for improving memory and brain connectivity: Baseline results
Author(s) -
Resende Elisa de Paula França,
Lara Vivian Proença,
Santiago Ana Luisa Carvalho,
Friedlaender Clarisse Vasconcelos,
Rosen Howard J,
Grinberg Lea Tenenholz,
Silva Lênio Lúcio Gávio,
de Souza Leonardo Cruz,
Caramelli Paulo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.044906
Subject(s) - literacy , recall , psychology , episodic memory , baseline (sea) , socioeconomic status , depression (economics) , cognition , gerontology , medicine , clinical psychology , audiology , developmental psychology , psychiatry , population , cognitive psychology , pedagogy , oceanography , environmental health , economics , macroeconomics , geology
Background Higher education acquired through the lifespan is believed to buffer the cognitive decline associated with neurodegenerative diseases. However, whether acquiring education later in life can improve memory is unknown. Methods We recruited illiterate adults that enroll in a late‐life literacy program to determine the impact of literacy training in adulthood on memory. Participants underwent baseline literacy tests and episodic memory was assessed with the Free and Cued Selective Reminding test (with pictures). Results At baseline, 43 illiterate adults that did not know how to read and write participated in the study. They had a mean age of 50.3 (SD 14.3) year‐old, 19 (44%) were males, 37 (90%) were non‐Caucasians and 24 (57%) were from low‐socioeconomic background. The main reason they did not attended school when they were young was that they had to work (n=21, 49%). Baseline clinical characteristics of participants were smoking in 26%, depression in 25% and anxiety in 16%. The mean free delayed‐recall was 10.6 (SD 3.1), out of 16 figures. Conclusion Here we present the baseline characteristics of this group of illiterate adults that engage in a late‐life literacy program. The results show that the participants recruitment is feasible and representative of such illiterate adult populations. Although episodic memory is normal, there is room for memory improvement to be studied in the follow up visit.