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Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST): effects on different areas of cognitive function for people with dementia
Author(s) -
Spector Aimee,
Orrell Martin,
Woods Bob
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.2464
Subject(s) - cognition , dementia , praxis , psychology , randomized controlled trial , cog , cognitive psychology , clinical psychology , audiology , psychotherapist , medicine , psychiatry , artificial intelligence , philosophy , disease , epistemology , computer science
Background There is good evidence indicating that group Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) leads to generalised cognitive benefits for people with dementia. However, little is known about whether some aspects of cognition might change more than others and why. Methods Cognitive Stimulation Therapy, a 14‐session group treatment, has been evaluated in a multi‐centre, single‐blind, randomised controlled trial. This study looks at the subscales of the ADAS‐Cog (memory and new learning, praxis and language) and compares the outcome of CST with a treatment as usual control group. Results There was a significant difference between treatment and control groups in total ADAS‐Cog score ( p = 0.01) and in the language subscale ( p = 0.01). There were no significant changes in memory and orientation or praxis. Conclusions CST appears to have particular effects in promoting language function, which is likely to lead to generalised benefits. This may be through generating opinions and creating new semantic links through categorisation. Future research might use more sensitive psychometric tests to assess these effects in more depth. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.