Memory enhancement in healthy older adults using a brain plasticity-based training program: A randomized, controlled study

TLDR

Normal aging is associated with progressive losses in perception, cognition, and memory, and evidence suggests that poorer signal‑to‑noise conditions and down‑regulated neuromodulatory function contribute to this decline. The study tests whether a brain‑plasticity‑based training program can reverse negative reorganization and improve cognitive function in healthy older adults. A randomized, controlled trial using standardized neuropsychological measures assessed the effects of the training program. Participants receiving the training showed significant improvements in task‑related assessments and generalization to unrelated memory measures (effect size 0.25), with gains sustained after a 3‑month no‑contact follow‑up, whereas control groups showed no change, demonstrating that intensive plasticity‑engaging training enhances cognition in mature adults.

Abstract

Normal aging is associated with progressive functional losses in perception, cognition, and memory. Although the root causes of age-related cognitive decline are incompletely understood, psychophysical and neuropsychological evidence suggests that a significant contribution stems from poorer signal-to-noise conditions and down-regulated neuromodulatory system function in older brains. Because the brain retains a lifelong capacity for plasticity and adaptive reorganization, dimensions of negative reorganization should be at least partially reversible through the use of an appropriately designed training program. We report here results from such a training program targeting age-related cognitive decline. Data from a randomized, controlled trial using standardized measures of neuropsychological function as outcomes are presented. Significant improvements in assessments directly related to the training tasks and significant generalization of improvements to nonrelated standardized neuropsychological measures of memory (effect size of 0.25) were documented in the group using the training program. Memory enhancement appeared to be sustained after a 3-month no-contact follow-up period. Matched active control and no-contact control groups showed no significant change in memory function after training or at the 3-month follow-up. This study demonstrates that intensive, plasticity-engaging training can result in an enhancement of cognitive function in normal mature adults.