Effect of Cognitive Intervention in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) on Functional Cortical Networks in fMRI

The study aims to detect the effect of a structured cognitive rehabilitation program, teh stage specific intervention STACog, on cognitive performance and functional activation in fMRI in a group of patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia due to Alzheimer's disease compared to a waiting group control sample. Baseline performance in cognitive tests and fMRI will further be assessed compared to healthy control subjects.

Subject of the proposed project is to offer based on existing theoretical principles and methods stage-related, reproducible, relevant to everyday life group training in German for people with aMCI and slightly severe AD and compared with a - in terms of goal variables - to be less effective prestigious intervention . It is believed that the "active treatment" - in the intervention group, the overall level of functioning can longer be maintained and that positive transfer effects on non-cognitive level - to achieve and cognitive level - here at nationals. In addition, information is expected that the conversion rate of people with dementia and aMCI cut to a further loss of independence in humans can be delayed slightly with severe AD. The project aims to provide data to estimate the effect sizes of intervention can be determined on the basis of group size and duration of ongoing investigations.

Involving functional imaging measures, the intervention study, an adequate platform for the detection of intervention effects on neurobiological basis using fMRI dar. Here, the cerebral blood flow in specific activation as a measure of neuronal and synaptic activity and integrity both in cross-section of a subsample of healthy elderly people studied determined and changes in cerebral activity patterns in people with severe AD, aMCI or slightly in comparison pre-/post interventions. There are detectable much earlier in the pathogenesis of functional changes as structural, using fMRI, the study is to make a significant contribution to prove whether a modular cognitive intervention altered neural and synaptic activity and whether this change is accompanied by an improvement in cognitive performance.

A complete and proven effectiveness of cognitive group training could make a significant contribution that people with MCI and severe AD easily submit their own initiative mental condition, and add itself to sustain the intellectual, emotional and social potential. As a long-term perspective, the results for the optimization of cognitive intervention programs and continue to implement the organizations of the open and contribute stationary the elderly and specialized medical facilities and other medical facilities.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment, Amnestic type (single domain) according to Petersen criteria or a low grade AD according to ICD-10/NINCDS-ADRDA

Exclusion Criteria:

* Major depression
* severe visual and acoustic impairment
* severe physical impairments
* known malignancy
* laboratory elevated inflammatory markers (ESR, CRP, leukocytes)
* stroke
* brain trauma
* epilepsy
* previous participation in a memory training
* patients receiving drug treatment (antidepressants, neuroleptics, anti-dementia, other brain performance enhancing drugs) at least three months prior to study initiation for the duration of the project are at a stable dosage