Astonishing results of a recently published large-scale study in cognitive training indicate that certain computerized brain-training exercises can significantly lower risks of dementia or cognitive decline, even years after the training!
The news is of great interest to all those who want to maintain cognitive skills as we age. Older adults are at increasing risk of developing dementia, the odds doubling with every decade of life: starting at 12% in the 60s and reaching near 50% in the mid-80s. Existing medication and therapies fall short in curing, treating, avoiding, or delaying the onset of dementia. Besides living a healthy lifestyle, exercising, and reducing stress, finding new ways of tipping the scale in our favor is a mission for researchers world-wide.
The latest results, published this July, emerged from the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study. Researchers compared the effects of brain training in 2,802 cognitively healthy seniors with an average age 74 at the beginning of the study. Participants were divided into four groups: the first got a classroom-based course designed to boost memory, a second group got a classroom-based course designed to sharpen reasoning skills, a third group was given commercially available computerized training designed to accelerate speed of visual processing, and the fourth group got no training at all. Trainings were limited to ten 60-75 minute sessions over a five-week period.
