Brain Exercise has Lasting Effects

Ivanhoe Newswire
Wednesday, December 20, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Sending older people back to class might be a good way to help them maintain their ability to handle everyday activities.

A new study reveals 10 sessions of cognitive training can lead to improvements that last up to five years.

Pennsylvania State University researchers tested the 10-session program in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study. Participants included nearly 2,900 people who were, on average, about 73 years old when the research began. All were living on their own.

Some of the participants took part in the 10-session program, while others did not. Smaller groups also went through the initial training and participated in booster sessions 11 and 35 months later.

All of the seniors who went through the training reported fewer problems after five years than those who did not take part in the program, with the effect statistically significant for reasoning training. People who received the booster training showed significant progress in the area of speed of processing.

"The ACTIVE study is the first large-scale, randomized trial to show that cognitive training improves cognitive function in well-functioning older adults and that this improvement lasts up to five years from the beginning of the intervention," write the authors.

In an accompanying editorial, fellow researchers note the study may have far reaching implications, particularly for people who cannot take standard drugs to help with memory and other cognitive problems.

"Addressing the growing threat of an aging population with limited options for maintaining cognitive function is a major challenge," they write. "Ultimately, an approach can be envisioned in which targeted combinations of lifestyle and pharmacologically based interventions are tailored to meet the specific cognitive, functional, and affective needs of individuals with different comorbid conditions."

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SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2006;296:2805-2814:2852-2854