The Effects of Computerized Cognitive Training in Older Adults' Cognitive Performance and Biomarkers of Structural Brain Aging.

The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 2024 Jul 01

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Cognitive training (CT) has been investigated as a means of delaying age-related cognitive decline in older adults. However, its impact on biomarkers of age-related structural brain atrophy has rarely been investigated, leading to a gap in our understanding of the linkage between improvements in cognition and brain plasticity. This study aimed to explore the impact of CT on cognitive performance and brain structure in older adults. One hundred twenty-four cognitively normal older adults recruited from 2 study sites were randomly assigned to either an adaptive CT (n = 60) or a casual game training (active control, AC, n = 64). After 10 weeks of training, CT participants showed greater improvements in the overall cognitive composite score (Cohen's d = 0.66, p < .01) with nonsignificant benefits after 6 months from the completion of training (Cohen's d = 0.36, p = .094). The CT group showed significant maintenance of the caudate volume as well as significant maintained fractional anisotropy in the left internal capsule and in left superior longitudinal fasciculus compared to the AC group. The AC group displayed an age-related decrease in these metrics of brain structure. Results from this multisite clinical trial demonstrate that the CT intervention improves cognitive performance and helps maintain caudate volume and integrity of white matter regions that are associated with cognitive control, adding to our understanding of the changes in brain structure contributing to changes in cognitive performance from adaptive CT. NCT03197454. © The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.

Citation

Hyun Kyu Lee, Chandramallika Basak, Sarah-Jane Grant, Nicholas R Ray, Paulina A Skolasinska, Chris Oehler, Shuo Qin, Andrew Sun, Evan T Smith, G Hulon Sherard, Adriana Rivera-Dompenciel, Mike Merzenich, Michelle W Voss. The Effects of Computerized Cognitive Training in Older Adults' Cognitive Performance and Biomarkers of Structural Brain Aging. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. 2024 Jul 01;79(7)