Clinical trial NCT05016336: Cognitive Training and Social Interaction Effects on Cognitive Performance of Older Adults
Official title: Strategy Based Cognitive Training Effects on Cognitive Performance of Older Adults in a Socially Interactive Learning Group
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Cognitive Decline
Keywords: Cognitive training
Strategy training
Older adults
Mnemonic
Social interaction
Lead sponsor: Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-08-23
Enrollment: 32
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 64
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The study included 32 subjects, 20 in the experimental group and 12 in the control group. The experimental group received 12 sessions of strategy-based cognitive training combined with a socially interactive learning method. The control group received the same number of meetings but without the strategy training. Participants were recruited from designated active groups in the community.
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Aging is associated with a decline in almost all aspects of cognitive functions, particularly memory. Recent research suggests that combining cognitive training with ongoing social interaction may aid in improving cognitive functioning for older adults. Furthermore, accumulative evidence suggests that strategy-based cognitive training may also improve the trainee's memory. In this study, the investigators examined the effects of a combined strategy-based cognitive training and a socially interactive learning method on cognitive performance and transfer effects in older adults.

Detailed description: A major concern with the aging of the world's population is a higher prevalence of age-related impairment of cognitive functions. This concern highlights the need to identify quick and effective interventions that can preserve cognitive functions.

A growing body of literature supports the notion that cognitive training may assist in promoting healthy brain aging and improve a wide range of cognitive abilities.

Cognitive training refers to a protocol consisting of a set of exercises designed to improve performance in one or several cognitive abilities. One approach to cognitive training mentioned in the literature is strategy training. Strategy training usually focuses on teaching specific strategies designed to help encode or retrieve information and involves techniques such as rehearsal, chunking, mental imagery, and story-formation.

A possible means for improving cognitive training outcomes is employing a socially interactive group-based cognitive training program versus an individual one. An abundance of studies has shown that social interaction may contribute to the slowing down of cognitive decline in old age.

Recent studies suggest that social interaction alone may not be beneficial for enhancing cognitive abilities, but when combined with a mental stimulus that requires cognitive effort, such improvement might be achieved.

Only a few studies to date have investigated the advantage of strategy training performed in-group vs individually and even fewer studies focused specifically on socially interactive learning methods. A recent pilot study combined cognitive training with social interaction for people with mild to moderate dementia and reported a significant cognitive improvement in favor of the social interaction group compared to the control group who was engaged in cognitive training only.

Social cognition is supported by an extensive system of limbic, cortical and subcortical brain regions. Many of these regions are also involved in episodic memory, semantic memory and other cognitive functions. Thus, it is possible that aspects of cognitive processing, which are activated through social interaction will also strengthen these cognitive abilities.

Engaging in social interaction usually consists of complex cognitive and memory challenges, which in turn may aid in enhancing cognitive abilities and cognitive reserve Training in a group setting can provide participants with an opportunity to problem-solve with a relevant peer group and allow individuals to gain comfort from sharing their concerns about memory.

The purpose of the current study was therefore to determine the effectiveness of a strategy-based cognitive training approach combined with a socially interactive learning method on cognitive performance and transferability of training gains for older adults.

Procedure:

Meetings of both groups were held in public community centers. A pre-session meeting was devoted to explaining the research objectives and signing consent forms. Prior to the first training meeting and after the program ended, cognitive evaluation measurements were taken individually from each subject. Before the final cognitive evaluation, participants were reminded to use the learned strategies.

Sample size assessment:

A priori power analysis using pilot data and the SimR package in R (version 1.0.5) suggested that 30 participants would provide sufficient power (power \> 80%) to detect the critical strategy training plus social interaction effect on cognitive performance.

Statistical analysis plan:

Data will be analyzed with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 23 (IBM Corp., Armonk, N.Y., USA). The main analysis 'שד a mixed-design analysis that compares the experimental conditions (between-subject factors) regarding their effect on cognitive performance in 4 cognitive tests and 2-time points (within-subjects variables).

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

• Healthy participants who are active in a designated group in the community.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any diagnosis of cognitive decline.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Verbal Fluency Test (Chiu et al., 1997)
timeFrame: Change from baseline (before treatment) to immediately after treatment (12 weeks)
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Wechsler Digit Span Test (Wechsler 2008)
timeFrame: Change from baseline (before treatment) to immediately after treatment (12 weeks)
measure: Words Recall Test (Fairchild et al., 2013)
timeFrame: Change from baseline (before treatment) to immediately after treatment (12 weeks)
measure: Corsi Block-Tapping Test (Corsi 1972)
timeFrame: Change from baseline (before treatment) to immediately after treatment (12 weeks)
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Ramat Gan
country: Israel
facility: Bar Ilan University
Study officials:
affiliation: Department of Psychology, and the Gonda Brain Research center, Bar Ilan University
name: Michal Lavidor, Prof.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
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