Cognitive and brain aging: interventions to promote well-being in old age

Editorial

14 January 2020

Editorial: Cognitive and Brain Aging: Interventions to Promote Well-Being in Old Age

Carryl L. Baldwin

and

Pamela M. Greenwood

4,976 views

9 citations

Editors

Pamela M Greenwood

George Mason University

Carryl L Baldwin

Wichita State University

Thomas Espeseth

University of Oslo

James Campbell Thompson

George Mason University

Xiong Jiang

Georgetown University

Philip P. Foster

Department of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine

Impact

Illustration of the concept. On (A), the diffusion of water molecules is limited by tissues, e.g., vessels, axons, or dendrites. The trajectories are short. (B) Paucity of tissues, water molecules may freely diffuse and follow long trajectories.

Editorial

15 October 2019

Editorial: Cognitive and Brain Aging: Interventions to Promote Well-Being in Old Age

Philip P. Foster

, 4 more and

Pamela M. Greenwood

7,391 views

5 citations

Experimental procedure of the word-matching task. In this example, each participant performed a task in which a target word presented at the top of the screen, dove (‘colombe’) had to be paired with one of three reference words, presented at the bottom, according to three possible semantic relationships: (a) typically related word (co-hyponyms) parakeet (‘perruche’); (b) atypically related word (co-hyponyms) albatross (‘albatros’); and (c) functionally related words (F) symbol (‘symbole’). The sorting period was followed by a maintenance feedback signal (green check mark displayed for 2000 ms) indicating that participants should maintain the same semantic rule as in the previous trial. After 5 or 6 maintaining trials, the rule changed (blue screen displayed for 500 ms) and participants had to discover the new classification rule and maintain it. As a control condition, a target card (e.g., AAAA) would be matched with the same sequence (e.g., aaaa) among three reference cards: aaaa, bbbb, cccc.

Original Research

10 August 2017

Ikram Methqal

, 6 more and

Yves Joanette

4,368 views

11 citations

Original Research

08 August 2017

The Effects of Home-Based Cognitive Training on Verbal Working Memory and Language Comprehension in Older Adulthood

Brennan R. Payne

and

Elizabeth A. L. Stine-Morrow

11,103 views

44 citations

Review

01 May 2017

Body–Brain Connections: The Effects of Obesity and Behavioral Interventions on Neurocognitive Aging

Chelsea M. Stillman

, 3 more and

Kirk I. Erickson

21,912 views

51 citations

Original Research

22 May 2017

Bárbara Avelar-Pereira

, 3 more and

Alireza Salami

7,874 views

64 citations

Original Research

23 March 2017

Limited Effects of Set Shifting Training in Healthy Older Adults

Petra Grönholm-Nyman

, 5 more and

Matti Laine

9,129 views

29 citations

Original Research

09 May 2017

Active Experiencing Training Improves Episodic Memory Recall in Older Adults

Sarah E. Banducci

, 6 more and

Arthur F. Kramer

7,844 views

20 citations

Original Research

18 April 2017

Individual Differences in Cognitive Function in Older Adults Predicted by Neuronal Selectivity at Corresponding Brain Regions

Xiong Jiang

, 2 more and

James H. Howard

4,792 views

16 citations

Original Research

16 March 2017

White Matter Integrity Declined Over 6-Months, but Dance Intervention Improved Integrity of the Fornix of Older Adults

Agnieszka Z. Burzynska

, 8 more and

Arthur F. Kramer

Degeneration of cerebral white matter (WM), or structural disconnection, is one of the major neural mechanisms driving age-related decline in cognitive functions, such as processing speed. Past cross-sectional studies have demonstrated beneficial effects of greater cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, cognitive training, social engagement, and nutrition on cognitive functioning and brain health in aging. Here, we collected diffusion magnetic resonance (MRI) imaging data from 174 older (age 60–79) adults to study the effects of 6-months lifestyle interventions on WM integrity. Healthy but low-active participants were randomized into Dance, Walking, Walking + Nutrition, and Active Control (stretching and toning) intervention groups (NCT01472744 on ClinicalTrials.gov). Only in the fornix there was a time × intervention group interaction of change in WM integrity: integrity declined over 6 months in all groups but increased in the Dance group. Integrity in the fornix at baseline was associated with better processing speed, however, change in fornix integrity did not correlate with change in processing speed. Next, we observed a decline in WM integrity across the majority of brain regions in all participants, regardless of the intervention group. This suggests that the aging of the brain is detectable on the scale of 6-months, which highlights the urgency of finding effective interventions to slow down this process. Magnitude of WM decline increased with age and decline in prefrontal WM was of lesser magnitude in older adults spending less time sedentary and more engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. In addition, our findings support the anterior-to-posterior gradient of greater-to-lesser decline, but only in the in the corpus callosum. Together, our findings suggest that combining physical, cognitive, and social engagement (dance) may help maintain or improve WM health and more physically active lifestyle is associated with slower WM decline. This study emphasizes the importance of a physically active and socially engaging lifestyle among aging adults.

59,920 views

137 citations

Mini Review

13 March 2017

Tuning Up the Old Brain with New Tricks: Attention Training via Neurofeedback

Yang Jiang

, 1 more and

Xiaopeng Zhao

Neurofeedback (NF) is a form of biofeedback that uses real-time (RT) modulation of brain activity to enhance brain function and behavioral performance. Recent advances in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) and cognitive training (CT) have provided new tools and evidence that NF improves cognitive functions, such as attention and working memory (WM), beyond what is provided by traditional CT. More published studies have demonstrated the efficacy of NF, particularly for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. In contrast, there have been fewer studies done in older adults with or without cognitive impairment, with some notable exceptions. The focus of this review is to summarize current success in RT NF training of older brains aiming to match those of younger brains during attention/WM tasks. We also outline potential future advances in RT brainwave-based NF for improving attention training in older populations. The rapid growth in wireless recording of brain activity, machine learning classification and brain network analysis provides new tools for combating cognitive decline and brain aging in older adults. We optimistically conclude that NF, combined with new neuro-markers (event-related potentials and connectivity) and traditional features, promises to provide new hope for brain and CT in the growing older population.

22,309 views

53 citations

Original Research

01 March 2017

Maintaining Cognitive Functioning in Healthy Seniors with a Technology-Based Foreign Language Program: A Pilot Feasibility Study

Caitlin Ware

, 6 more and

Anne-Sophie Rigaud

10,407 views

75 citations

Standardized improvement scores (larger scores represent greater improvement) for all cognitive measures as a function of condition. Error bars represent 95% Confidence Intervals.

Original Research

28 February 2017

Evidence for Narrow Transfer after Short-Term Cognitive Training in Older Adults

Dustin J. Souders

, 4 more and

Neil Charness

18,095 views

59 citations

Simulating computational effects of aging neuronal gain control: (A) Aging-related deficiency of dopamine (DA) modulation attenuates the gain parameter of the sigmoidal transfer function relating pre-synaptic input and post-synaptic output and thus reduces the slope of the neuronal response function. (B) Attenuated gain control increases random processing fluctuations, which functionally reduce the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of information processing. (C) For instance, in a simple decision process between criterion a or 0, increased SNR of information processing limits the rate (drift rate, v) of evidence accumulation for either decision and precision of information processing with broader reaction time (RT) distribution, indicated by the curves, in the old compared to the young network. Further negative impacts on a wide range of cognitive functions have been discussed (Li et al., 2001; see Li and Rieckmann, 2014 for commonly observed neurocognitive aging deficits accounted for by the simulated effects of aging neuronal gain control).

Review

23 February 2017

Activating Developmental Reserve Capacity Via Cognitive Training or Non-invasive Brain Stimulation: Potentials for Promoting Fronto-Parietal and Hippocampal-Striatal Network Functions in Old Age

Susanne Passow

, 1 more and

Shu-Chen Li

7,769 views

42 citations

Illustration of examples of the experiment set up. The rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) stream illustration (A) displays a Target Mid RSVP stream, and the visual search display illustration (B) displays a serial visual search display. Each trial consisted of a fixation cross (2000 ms) followed by an RSVP stream immediately followed by a visual search display.

Original Research

14 February 2017

Eleanor Callaghan

, 1 more and

Klaus Kessler

4,639 views

14 citations

Review

03 February 2017

Mindfulness Training for Healthy Aging: Impact on Attention, Well-Being, and Inflammation

Stephanie Fountain-Zaragoza

and

Ruchika Shaurya Prakash

The growing interest in mindfulness interventions for use in aging samples has been met with promising evidence of cognitive, emotional, and physiological benefits. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the impact of mindfulness training on three areas of functioning in older adults: behavioral and neural correlates of attentional performance, psychological well-being, and systemic inflammation. We have previously proposed that mindfulness training is uniquely suited as a rehabilitative tool for conferring both cognitive and emotional benefits for older adults. Specifically, mindfulness training's promotion of focused attention may mitigate the decline of attentional control abilities across late development and allow older adults to capitalize on their preserved emotion regulation abilities. Existing evidence points to some improvements in facets of attentional control in older adults, although some studies have shown no benefits in performance. Further, there is evidence of enhancements in both psychological and physical aspects of well-being, and accompanying improvements in systemic inflammation, following mindfulness training. The scientific investigation of mindfulness training is still relatively nascent, with only a limited number of studies, particularly randomized controlled trials utilizing active comparison conditions. It will be important for future research to incorporate placebo-controlled comparison groups to clearly establish the causal role of mindfulness practices in promoting holistic health in older adults.

35,795 views

46 citations