Attentional Control Training in Older Adults: Efficacy, Transfer and Brain Substrates

Summary

Formal education and cognitively stimulating hobbies and profession have a protective effect against age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease. It is therefore possible that providing cognitively stimulating interventions at a later age increases neuroplasticity and brain resilience. Processes of updating and inhibition are both impaired by aging. Several studies have shown that updating can be improved but very few studies targeted inhibition in spite of the fact that it is impaired in older adults. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of cognitive interventions that will target either of these two components. The investigators will examine the effect on behavior, brain measures and transfer tasks. The investigators will also assess whether the efficacy varies as a function of personal variables such as prior cognitive profile, reserve proxies, genetic polymorphisms and brain markers.

Conditions

• Inhibition (Psychology)
• Updating
• General Knowledge
• No Training

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Updating

Updating is trained across 12 sessions using N-back-type exercises. Training is performed on a samsung galaxy tab2. Each session lasts 30 minutes. The difficult is reset and the nature of the stimuli (numbers vs. symbols) is changed halfway in each session.

BEHAVIORAL

Inhibition

Inhibition is trained across 12 sessions with Stroop-like exercises. Training is performed on a samsung galaxy tab2. Each session lasts 30 minutes. The difficult is reset and the nature of stimuli (letters vs. numbers) is changed halfway in each session.

BEHAVIORAL

General knowledge

General Knowledge is trained across 12 sessions. Participants complete four-choice questions relating to general knowledge and vocabulary and are provided with the correct answer and a short explanation. Questions are displayed one by one on a computer screen with a maximum of 20 seconds per question. Each session lasts 30 minutes and includes 2 blocks of 40 new questions each (about 220 seconds per block). Questions with wrong answers are displayed again at the end of each block.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, Canada

  collaborator OTHER

• Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Geriatrie de Montreal

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Sylvie Belleville, PhD · Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire de Geriatrie de Montreal

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Max Age

85 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-10-19

Primary Completion

2019-12-20

Completion

2019-12-20

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations