High IMPACT Exercise
Initial results from The IMPACT Study (Improvement in Memory with Plasticity-based Adaptive Cognitive Training) were presented at a recent conference, as touted in this press release:
New Research on Aging and Cognitive TrainingIn brief, 10 weeks of the training program, which targeted the speed/accuracy of auditory and language processes, resulted in improvements in auditory memory in a large group of intelligent, well-educated, highly-functioning elderly adults (when compared to an "active control" group). The conference poster is available for download, The IMPACT Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Brain Plasticity-Based Training Program for Age-Related Cognitive Decline.
Researchers released initial data today at the 60th Annual Meeting of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) that showed that doing the right kind of brain exercise can enhance memory and other cognitive abilities of older adults.Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski of the University of Southern California Andrus Gerontology Center presented data from the IMPACT study (Improvement in Memory with Plasticity-based Adaptive Cognitive Training) – the largest study ever done on aging and cognitive training using a program available to the public. In this prospective, randomized, controlled, double blind trial of 524 healthy adults (aged 65 and older), half the participants completed up to 40 hours of the computer-based Posit Science Brain Fitness Program. The other half, who followed the traditional advice that older adults will benefit from new learning, completed up to 40 hours of a computer-based educational training program.
The group that engaged in the Posit Science program showed significantly superior improvements in standardized clinical measures of memory gains of approximately 10 years. This is the first research study to show generalization to untrained standardized measures of memory using a publicly available cognitive training program. ...
Next up: combining the auditory memory benefits of computerized cognitive training with the executive control benefits of aerobic fitness training. Has Posit approached Art Kramer yet?
- Brain Training Games Don't Work
Six weeks of computer brain training has little benefit beyond boosting performance on the specific tasks included in the training. That's according to an online study involving more than 11,000 participants conducted as part of the BBC's Bang...
- Neuropsychology Abstract Of The Day: Ms And Cognitive Rehabilitation
A randomized controlled trial of a cognitive rehabilitation intervention for persons with multiple sclerosis Clin Rehabil. 2012 Feb 2; Stuifbergen AK, Becker H, Perez F, Morison J, Kullberg V, Todd A Abstract Objective: To explore the feasibility and...
- Neuropsychology Abstract Of The Day: Gaming And Executive Control In Older Adults
Space Fortress game training and executive control in older adults: A pilot intervention Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn. 2011 Oct 12; Stern Y, Blumen HM, Rich LW, Richards A, Herzberg G, Gopher D Abstract ABSTRACT We investigated the...
- Neuropsychology Abstract Of The Day: Cognitive Rehab In Ugandan Childhood Malaria Survivors
Bangirana P, Giordani B, John CC, Page C, Opoka RO, & Boivin MJ (2009). Immediate Neuropsychological and Behavioral Benefits of Computerized Cognitive Rehabilitation in Ugandan Pediatric Cerebral Malaria Survivors. Journal of Development and Behavioral...
- More On The Active Study
From an NIH press release: EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE Tuesday, December 19, 2006 4:00 PM ET NIA CONTACT: Susan Farrer or Linda Joy 301- 496-1752 NINR CONTACT: Lanny Newman 301-496-0209 Mental Exercise Helps Maintain Some Seniors’ Thinking Skills Certain...