Open AccessThe Impact of a Sustained Cognitive Engagement Intervention on Cognitive Variability: the Synapse Project
Author(s) -
Christopher Brydges,
Allison A. M. Bielak
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of cognitive enhancement
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2509-3290
pISSN - 2509-3304
DOI - 10.1007/s41465-019-00140-9
Subject(s) - cognition , psychology , psychological intervention , intervention (counseling) , cognitive decline , developmental psychology , dementia , medicine , psychiatry , disease , pathology
Interest in maintaining one's cognitive ability and quality of life through older adulthood has greatly increased in recent years. However, research examining the effectiveness of cognitive engagement interventions on older adults is mixed and the mechanisms behind improving cognition in older age are unknown. It is possible that traditional measures of cognitive outcomes, such as average reaction time, may overlook potential benefits due to a lack of sensitivity in these measures. One alternative metric is intraindividual variability (IIV) in response speed (short-term variations in performance on reaction time tasks), which reflects fluctuations in attention and is a sensitive behavioral measure of neurological integrity that is predictive of future cognitive decline and impairment.