The Impact of Working Memory Training on Cognitive Abilities in Older Adults: The Role of Cognitive Reserve | Bentham Science

摘要

Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine whether Working Memory (WM)training improves the cognitive functioning of older adults and to determine the role of cognitivereserve in WM training.Methods: Twenty-one older adults, aged between 65 and 91 years were included in the study. Tenof them were in the experimental group and 11 in the passive control group. The experimentalgroup underwent 15 training sessions of n-back training over a period of five weeks, whereas thecontrol group remained passive. All participants (from the experimental and control group) weretested before the training, one week after the training, and three months after the training with Rey–Osterrieth/Taylor Complex Figure test (ROCF), Digit span, and TMT (part A and part B).Results and Conclusion: Results of our study suggest that although the experimental group slightlyimproved their performance on the trained task, the progress was not statistically significant. Therewas also no statistically significant transfer of training effects onto tasks of visual-spatial and verbalmemory, as well as those related to executive functioning. However, the study did identify a statisticallysignificant correlation between cognitive reserve and certain tests performed at the final testing:tasks measuring executive functioning and spatial ability. Results also revealed that the groupthat showed improvement in the training task was significantly better in the ROCF test in comparisonwith the group that had not improved their performance on the N-back task. Thus, visual-spatialabilities (visual perception, construction, and memory) were more connected with success in WMtraining, than other measured cognitive abilities (e.g. verbal and numerical memory).