The effectiveness of cognitive training for healthy cognitively elderly people

Objectives. The main objective of this project is to investigate the effectiveness of cognitive training in a group of cognitively healthy elderly persons using a multidisciplinary method. The results are analyzed at baseline and immediately after the training. Methods. The LAB-I methodology 1 was partially used. The cognitive training consisted of 10 sessions and some effective mnemonics techniques were applied. The role of some psychological aspects, such as metacognition, metamemory, mood status was investigated. Results. The sample consisted of 61 subjects, with a mean age of 71.4 years (SD = 5.4). At baseline, the percentage of subjects reporting concerns about their meta-memory, measured by means of Memory Complaint Questionnaire, was 65.4%. The well-being was "low" in 43.5%, "moderate" in 28.3% and "high" in 28.3% of the sample. Normal mood status was observed in 79.6%, mild depression (Geriatric Depression Scale = 6-10) in 14.3% and severe depression was observed in 6.1% of the sample. At baseline, the mean number of recalled words was 5.14 (SD = 1.4). The mean number of recalled words significantly increased (7.14 words) in the first follow-up (p < 0.001). Conclusions. This preliminary analysis showed the immediate effectiveness in the first follow-up of cognitive training for healthy cognitively elderly people.