Open AccessEFFICACY OF COGNITIVE TRAINING FOCUSED ON DIFFERENT MEMORY SUBSYSTEMS FOR COMMUNITY DWELLING ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS
Author(s) -
Katarina Duarte Fernandes,
Henrique da Silva,
Roberta Roque Baradel,
Raquel Vecchio Fornari,
Patrícia Vanzella,
Kateřina Lukášová,
Maria Carthery- Goulart
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
dementia and neuropsychologia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Conference proceedings
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.54
H-Index - 21
ISSN - 1980-5764
DOI - 10.5327/1980-5764.rpda105
Subject(s) - episodic memory , recall , cognitive training , cognition , psychology , neuropsychology , working memory , psychological intervention , cognitive psychology , psychiatry
Background: With the aging process, some memory subsystems as the episodic and working memory change. Cognitive training has been suggested for prevention of cognitive decline but previous studies have conflicting results. Objective: To verify the efficacy of two types of multidimensional cognitive training programs, one focusing on internal strategies to boost episodic memory (EMT) and another based on activities targeting speed processing and working memory (WMT). Methods: One hundred thirty six community dwelling older adults (aged 60 or over and living independently) took part in the study, 76 undertook EMT, 30 undertook WMT and 30 participated in a control program that focused on autobiographical memory (AMT). Training occurred during 8 weekly group sessions of 1,5h. All groups participated in lectures about cognition and aging during the training. They received activities to practice at home. A neuropsychological battery was applied before and after the interventions. Results: ANOVA of repeated measures pointed to significant higher scores in global cognition (ACER), their memory subtest, and in recall score of categorized noun pictures. The interaction showed that the episodic group improved more than the others in the recall of pictures (interaction between group and task p <0,01). Conclusion: The results demonstrated immediate gains after training in specific episodic memory trained skills.