Affective Learning and Psychophysiological Reactivity in Dementia Patients

We examined the association of faces with biographical information that varied in emotional content in patients with Alzheimer's disease and a healthy control group. During two experimental sessions, participants rated neutral male faces on dimensions of hedonic valence and emotional arousal, later paired with fictitious biographical information. Both groups changed their ratings of the faces according to the biographical content. Free recall and recognition were tested in the second session. Patients neither recalled the biographical information nor recognized the faces, whereas the controls did. In addition, psychophysiological measures were taken in response to the face stimuli. Patients showed significant heart rate modulation as a function of their emotion ratings, whereas the controls did not. No correlation of rating changes with skin conductance was found in any group. Results suggest that psychophysiological reactions such as heart rate changes may indicate preserved affective associative learning in dementia patients despite impaired explicit memory

Multi-domain training enhances attentional control

Multi-domain cognitive training potentially increases the likelihood for an overlap in processing component with transfer tasks and everyday life, and hence is a promising training approach for older adults. To empirically test this, 84 healthy older adults aged 65 to 75 years were randomly assigned to one of three single-domain training conditions (inhibition, visuomotor function, spatial navigation) or to the simultaneous training of all three cognitive functions (multi-domain training condition). All participants trained on an iPad at home for 50 training sessions. Before and after the training, and at a six-month follow-up measurement, cognitive functioning and training transfer were assessed with a neuropsychological test battery including tests targeting the trained functions (near transfer) and transfer to executive functions (far transfer: attentional control, working memory, speed). Participants in all four training groups showed a linear increase in training performance over the 50 training sessions. Using a latent difference score model, the multi-domain training group, compared to the single-domain training groups, showed more improvement on the far transfer, executive attentional control composite. Individuals with initially lower baseline performance showed higher training-related improvements, indicating that training compensated for lower initial cognitive performance. At the six-month follow-up, performance on the cognitive test battery remained stable. This is one of the first studies that systematically investigated multi-domain training including comparable single-domain training conditions. Our findings suggest that multi-domain training enhances executive attentional control involved in handling several different tasks at the same time, an aspect in everyday life that is particularly challenging for older people

42. Kognitives Training

Kognitive Trainings bei älteren Erwachsenen haben das Ziel, durch wiederholtes Üben von standardisierten, kognitive Fähigkeiten beanspruchender Aufgaben, kognitive Leistungsabfälle zu verhindern oder rückgängig zu machen. Drei Arten kognitiver Trainings werden vorgestellt: Strategie-, Prozess- und Multidomänentrainings. Die zwischen den Trainingsarten bestehenden Unterschiede in Wirkmechanismen, Trainingsaufgaben, Zielvariablen, Durchführungsmodalitäten und methodischer Qualität der zur Evaluation ihrer Wirksamkeit durchgeführten Studien werden beschrieben. Die Befunde deuten auf größere und breitere kognitive Leistungssteigerungen durch Prozess- und Multidomänentrainings als durch Strategietrainings hin. Es besteht jedoch erheblicher Forschungsbedarf zu Langzeiteffekten kognitiver Trainings, ihrer Wirkung auf die Alltagskompetenz und zum Einfluss von Trainings- und Personeneigenschaften. In der Praxis werden vor allem Strategietrainings angeboten. Prozesstrainings wären kostengünstiger umsetzbar, erfüllen aber keine sozialen Bedürfnisse. Eine professionelle Beratung kann durch Abklärung persönlicher Interessen, Fähigkeiten und Ressourcen Empfehlungen für individuell passende und effiziente Trainings geben

Sleep quality and cognitive function in healthy old age: The moderating role of subclinical depression

Objective: Previous research has yielded inconclusive results on the relationship between self-reported sleep quality and cognitive performance in healthy old age. Discrepant findings have been reported regarding processing speed and attention, executive functions, and episodic memory. However, sleep quality has also been found to be related to cognitive performance in patients with depression. Our aim was to clarify the relationship between sleep quality and cognitive performance in healthy older adults, and to evaluate the moderating role of subclinical depression on this relationship. Method: The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to assess subjective sleep quality in 107 participants (age ≥ 61 years). A broad battery of neuropsychological tests measured basic cognitive processes, executive functions, and memory processes. Results: Subclinical depression moderated the link between sleep quality and cognitive performance. More precisely, poorer sleep quality was associated with lower performance in reasoning, semantic fluency, and shifting in those with high versus low levels of subclinical depression. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that poor sleep quality might affect higher order cognitive processes, particularly in those reporting higher levels of subclinical depression. Findings on the relationships between sleep quality, cognitive functioning, and depressive symptomatology are discussed in relation to neurobehavioral theories of sleep

Evaluative conditioning with facial stimuli in dementia patients

We present results of a study investigating evaluative learning in dementia patients with a classic evaluative conditioning paradigm. Picture pairs of three unfamiliar faces with liked, disliked, or neutral faces, that were rated prior to the presentation, were presented 10 times each to a group of dementia patients (N = 15) and healthy controls (N = 14) in random order. Valence ratings of all faces were assessed before and after presentation. In contrast to controls, dementia patients changed their valence ratings of unfamiliar faces according to their pairing with either a liked or disliked face, although they were not able to explicitly assign the picture pairs after the presentation. Our finding suggests preserved evaluative conditioning in dementia patients. However, the result has to be considered preliminary, as it is unclear which factors prevented the predicted rating changes in the expected direction in the control group

Cognitive development in ageing

Cognitive development in ageing is a multidimensional and multidirectional phenomenon characterized by age-related changes in the plasticity of different dimensions of cognitive functions. Gains, stability, and losses can be observed across abilities and across persons as they age. Although with the closeness to death losses are predominant, several cognitive abilities on average show stability and even increases well into extreme old age. Importantly, the individually differing uses of the ability to learn, and cognitive as well as neural plasticity can explain the heterogeneity of cognitive ageing. Based on different approaches to cognitive ageing, different training methods have been introduced over the past years focusing on cognitive processes, primary mental abilities, higher-order cognitive constructs, and global cognition involving multiple cognitive domains. They demonstrate the possibilities to improve cognitive functioning and to extend the phase of autonomous living for several years. A more recent and promising concept is the integration of the existing approaches within a functional approach to cognitive development framing elementary cognitive ability use within the context of their functional value for independent living and autonomy. Due to its applicability to resource orchestration at all levels of functioning it has implications for the understanding of everyday cognitive performances and clinical practice

Multi-domain training in healthy old age: Hotel Plastisse as an iPad-based serious game to systematically compare multi-domain and single-domain training

Finding effective training interventions for declining cognitive abilities in healthy aging is of great relevance, especially in view of the demographic development. Since it is assumed that transfer from the trained to untrained domains is more likely to occur when training conditions and transfer measures share a common underlying process, multi-domain training of several cognitive functions should increase the likelihood of such an overlap. In the first part, we give an overview of the literature showing that cognitive training using complex tasks, such as video games, leisure activities, or practicing a series of cognitive tasks, has shown promising results regarding transfer to a number of cognitive functions. These studies, however, do not allow direct inference about the underlying functions targeted by these training regimes. Custom-designed serious games allow to design training regimes according to specific cognitive functions and a target population's need. In the second part, we introduce the serious game Hotel Plastisse as an iPad-based training tool for older adults that allows the comparison of the simultaneous training of spatial navigation, visuomotor function, and inhibition to the training of each of these functions separately. Hotel Plastisse not only defines the cognitive functions of the multi-domain training clearly, but also implements training in an interesting learning environment including adaptive difficulty and feedback. We propose this novel training tool with the goal of furthering our understanding of how training regimes should be designed in order to affect cognitive functioning of older adults most broadly