The interpretation of proverbs by elderly with high, medium and low educational level: Abstract reasoning as an aspect of executive functions

Abstract It is now known that cognitive functions tend to decline with age. Executive functions (EF) are among the first abilities to decline with aging. A subcomponent of the EF is abstract reasoning. The Test of Proverbs is an instrument that can be used to evaluate the capacity of abstract reasoning. Objective: To examine the association of performance in interpretation of proverbs, with education and with episodic memory and EF tasks. Methods: A total of 67 individuals aged between 60 and 75 years were evaluated, and divided into three categories of education: 1-4 years, 5-8 years, and 9 or more years of schooling. The instruments used were a sociodemographic questionnaire (gender, age, marital status, education, income, previous occupation, current occupation and health perception), the Mini Mental State Examination, Brief Cognitive Screening Battery; Geriatric Depression Scale; Forward and Backward Digit Span (WAIS-III), and the Test of Proverbs. Results: A high impact of education was seen on the interpretation of proverbs, with lower performance among the elderly with less education. A significant association between performance on the Test of Proverbs and scores on the MMSE, GDS, and verbal fluency tests was found. There was a modest association with incidental memory. Conclusions: The capacity to interpret proverbs is strongly associated with education and with performance on other EF tasks

Training of executive functions in healthy elderly: Results of a pilot study

ABSTRACT Executive functions (EF) refer to the cognitive skills necessary to formulate a goal, plan, execute plans effectively, and to perform self-monitoring and self-correction. Several aspects of EF change during the normal aging process. Objectives: To train skills associated with executive functions in the elderly and to detect possible impact on objective EF tests and self-reports of functional status. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving an intervention and pre and post testing was carried out. Study participants included 26 seniors assigned to an experimental group (EG) and given six sessions of cognitive intervention, and 17 seniors assigned to a control group (CG) who completed pre and post testing only. All participants were enrolled in an Open University for the Third Age. The following tests were used to measure outcome: the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), the Story subtest of the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test (RBMT) (versions A and B), semantic verbal fluency fruit category, and verbal fluency with phonological constraints (FAS), WAIS-III Digit Span, Clock Drawing Test (CDT), Trail Making Part A and the Pfeffer Functional Assessment Questionnaire (PFAQ). Delta scores were calculated (post-test score minus pretest score) to assess the impact of the intervention. Results: In the post test, the CG showed significant improvement on the RBMT Story recall and Digit Span but a decline in verbal fluency. The EG remained stable in terms of pre and post test scores. Conclusions: The intervention did not enhance performance on the EF tests. It is noteworthy that the EG received only a small number of sessions which may not have been sufficient to generate improvement. Alternatively, the lack of group differences observed could be associated to participation in other workshops offered at the university

Treino cognitivo em adultos maduros e idosos: impacto de estratégias segundo faixas de escolaridade Entrenamiento cognitivo en adultos maduros y ancianos: impacto de estrategias según niveles de escolaridad Cognitive training in older adults and the elderly: impact of educational strategies according to age

Objetivou-se com este estudo testar a eficácia de treino cognitivo de seis sessões, baseado na apresentação e prática de estratégias de memória (categorização) e na realização de atividades que recrutam as funções executivas, oferecido a idosos. Objetivou-se, também, identificar e comparar as estratégias mnemônicas utilizadas pelos participantes antes e após treino, segundo faixas de escolaridade. Participaram do estudo 31 idosos, divididos em Grupo 1 (com até 8 anos de escolaridade) e Grupo 2 (com 9 anos ou mais). Foram aplicadas questões sociodemográficas, escalas cognitivas e uma lista de estratégias possíveis para identificação das estratégias usadas. Os resultados indicaram a influência da escolaridade no uso de estratégias de memória no pré-teste. No pós-teste, apontaram para aumento na velocidade de processamento e na utilização de estratégias. Concluiu-se que o uso de estratégias, a autoeficácia para a memória e o ganho após o treino cognitivo podem ser influenciados pela escolaridade.<br>El objetivo de este estudio fue testar la eficacia de entrenamiento cognitivo de seis sesiones basado en la presentación y práctica de estrategias de memoria (categorización) y en la realización de actividades que reclutan las funciones ejecutivas, ofrecido a ancianos. Se objetivó también identificar y comparar las estrategias mnemónicas utilizadas por los participantes antes y después del entrenamiento, según niveles de escolaridad. Participaron del estudio 31 ancianos, divididos en Grupo 1 (con hasta 8 años de escolaridad) y Grupo 2 (con 9 años o más). Fueron realizadas cuestiones sociodemográficas y utilizadas escalas cognitivas y una lista de estrategias posibles para identificación de las estrategias usadas. Los resultados indicaron la influencia de la escolaridad en el uso de estrategias de memoria en el pre test. En el post teste, señalaron aumento en la velocidad de procesamiento y en la utilización de estrategias. Se concluyó que el uso de estrategias, la autoeficacia para la memoria y el gaño después del entrenamiento cognitivo pueden ser influenciados por la escolaridad.<br>The objective of this study was to test the effectiveness of a cognitive training program of six sessions based on the presentation and practice of memory strategies (categorization) and activities that recruit executive functions offered for older adults. We also aimed at identifying and comparing the mnemonic strategies used by participants stratified by levels of schooling before and after training. The study included 31 older adults divided into group 1 (up to 8 years of schooling) and group 2 (9 or more years of schooling). The instruments used were: sociodemographic questionnaire, cognitive scales and a list of possible strategies to identify the strategies used. The results were indicated the influence of education on the use of memory strategies in the pre-test and post-test. At the post-test, there was a significant increase in processing speed and strategies use. It is concluded that he use of strategies, memory self-efficacy and the gain after cognitive training may be influenced by education