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Mental exercises for cognitive function: clinical evidence

Authors

Kawashima, Ryuta

Journal

Journal Of Preventive Medicine And Public Health = Yebang Ŭihakhoe Chi, Volume: 46 Suppl 1, Pages.: S22-S27

Year of Publication

2013

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the beneficial effects of a new cognitive intervention program designed for the care and prevention of dementia, namely Learning Therapy. The training program used systematized basic problems in arithmetic and Japanese language as training tasks. In study 1, 16 individuals in the experimental group and 16 in the control group were recruited from a nursing home. In both groups, all individuals were clinically diagnosed with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type. In study 2, we performed a single-blind, randomized controlled trial in our cognitive intervention program of 124 community-dwelling seniors. In both studies, the daily training program using reading and arithmetic tasks was carried out approximately 5 days a week, for 15 to 20 minutes a day in the intervention groups. Neuropsychological measures were determined simultaneously in the groups both prior to and after six months of the intervention. The results of our investigations indicate that our cognitive intervention using reading and arithmetic problems demonstrated a transfer effect and they provide convincing evidence that cognitive training maintains and improves the cognitive functions of dementia patients and healthy seniors.;

Bibtex Citation

@article{Kawashima_2013, doi = {10.3961/jpmph.2013.46.s.s22}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2013.46.S.S22}, year = 2013, month = {jan}, publisher = {Korean Society for Preventive Medicine}, volume = {46}, number = {Suppl 1}, pages = {S22--S27}, author = {Ryuta Kawashima}, title = {Mental Exercises for Cognitive Function: Clinical Evidence}, journal = {J Prev Med Public Health} }

Keywords

aged, aged, 80 and over, alzheimer disease, arithmetic, cognition, humans, mathematics, neuropsychological tests, nursing homes, physiopathology, prefrontal cortex, psychology, quality of life, reading, reading aloud, transfer effect, working memory training

Countries of Study

Japan

Types of Dementia

Dementia (general / unspecified)

Types of Study

Randomised Controlled Trial

Type of Outcomes

Cognition

Settings

Nursing Homes

Type of Interventions

Non-pharmacological Treatment, Risk Factor Modification

Risk Factor Modifications

General population health promotion

Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions

Adult safeguarding and abuse detection/prevention