Background: With age, older adults experience declines in both short- and long-term memory. One way to counter these age-related declines is through memory interventions which include computerized cognitive training and non-computerized cognitive stimulation. This dissertation examined whether a cognitive training program, Dakim BrainFitness (Dakim Inc., 2002) and a program of cognitive stimulation, Mind Your Mind (Seagull & Seagull, 2007), enhance memory performance among cognitively-intact older adults residing in independent-living retirement communities. Specifically, the following research questions were proposed: (a) How effective is the computerized cognitive training program in improving memory performance relative to the cognitive stimulation program or a no-contact control condition? (b) How effective is the non-computerized cognitive stimulation program, Mind Your Mind, at improving memory performance relative to a control condition? and (c) Will memory training gains endure 3-months post-training for those who participate in cognitive training? Method: Fifty-three older adults were randomized to cognitive training (n = 19), cognitive stimulation (n = 17), or a no-contact control (n = 17) condition. Participants in the cognitive training and cognitive stimulation conditions were asked to complete five 25-minute sessions per week for a 10-week period. Memory outcome measures included the Auditory Verbal Learning Test (AVLT), the Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT), and the Wechsler Memory Scale-Third Edition (WMS-III) Family Pictures subtest. Outcome measures were administered at baseline, immediately post-training (or equivalent delay), and again at 3-months post-training. Results: Multivariate Analysis of Variance indicated no significant differences between the three training conditions on baseline characteristics and memory outcome scores (p = .660). To test hypotheses one and two, memory outcome measures were compared across training conditions and testing occasions. A repeated measures MANOVA indicated a significant group x time interaction, Wilks' Λ =.585, F(10,92) = 2.83, p = .004, partial η2 = .235. Follow-up analyses for each memory outcome measure from baseline to immediately post-training were conducted with training condition as the independent variable. Significant group x time interactions were found between conditions for AVLT delayed recall, F(2,50) = 3.683, p = .032, partial η2 = .128, and the HVLT immediate recall, F(2,50) = 5.059, p = .010, partial η2 = .168. No significant group x time interaction was indicated on the AVLT immediate recall, F(2,50) = 2.544, p = .089, partial η2 = .092. There was a marginally significant group x time interaction on the WMS-III Family Pictures delayed recall F(2,50) = 2.975, p = .060, partial η2 = .106. Post-hoc comparisons for significant outcome measures were conducted using Fisher's LSD test, while controlling for baseline performance. Results indicated that the cognitive training condition performed significantly better than the cognitive stimulation condition from baseline to immediately post-training on the AVLT delayed recall (p = .012), as well as on HVLT immediate recall (p < .001). The cognitive training condition also performed significantly better from baseline to immediately post-training as compared to the no-contact control condition (p = .011). A significant difference between the cognitive training condition and the no-contact control condition was also found on the WMS-III delayed recall measure (p = .030) immediately post-training. No significant differences between any of the conditions were found on either AVLT immediate or WMS-III Family Pictures immediate recall (ps > .05). There were no differences between the cognitive stimulation and control conditions across all memory outcomes (ps > .05). For hypothesis three, a repeated measures MANOVA indicated no main effect of time within the cognitive training condition for the memory outcome measures, Wilks' Λ = .047, F(6,11) = 2.11, p = .135, partial η2 = .535. Discussion: These findings provide evidence that the adaptive computerized cognitive training program, Dakim BrainFitness, significantly improved memory abilities as measured by the AVLT delayed recall, HVLT, and WMS-III Family Pictures delayed recall relative to cognitive stimulation. In contrast, there were no significant improvements for participants in the non-adaptive, non-computerized program of cognitive stimulation relative to controls. These findings coincide with the Model of Adult Cognitive Plasticity that in order to improve cognitive performance, there needs to be a mismatch between the individual's capacities and the demands of the task. Adaptive cognitive training may be more likely to provide a mismatch and produce positive plasticity changes in the brain. Future research pertains to exploring the cognitive benefits that these programs have on other types of cognitive domains.

Older adults who stay physically and mentally active appear to have better cognitive function compared to their less active counterparts. In fact, those who perform either regular exercise or cognitive training (CT) can maintain and improve their cognitive functioning, even in their later years. Resistance training (RT) causes an increase in specific hormones that are responsible for improved brain functioning; however, many questions about how these hormones respond to RT are unanswered. Understanding how these hormones respond to RT can help researchers and clinicians create optimal training programs for older adults. Research shows that combining exercise and CT may be better for the brain compared to either activity performed alone; however, nobody has looked at RT combined with CT. We believe that combining RT and CT where CT is performed when an individual’s hormones are highest (right after RT) could have a big effect on brain function in a short period of time. This work represents a two-part study looked at: 1) how these hormones respond to a session of RT, and 2) the effect of combined RT and CT on cognitive function in older adults. Our participants performed CT immediately after RT, 3 times per week for 8 weeks. Specific hormones which are important for brain function were measured immediately before and for 2 hours after an acute bout of RT before and after 8-weeks of RT. Cognitive function was measured before and after the RT training period. Our primary findings were: 1) significant increases in brain derived neurotrophic factor immediately after RT and 2) participants cognitive function improved after 8 weeks of training. This is important because short-term combined RT and CT can lead to significant improvements in cognitive functioning. Also, this work will allow researchers to begin designing exercise programs that can maximize the brain’s ability to change, even at an old age. / Thesis (Master, Kinesiology & Health Studies) -- Queen's University, 2012-09-21 15:29:35.509

Mindfulness-based meditation practices involve various attentional skills including the ability to sustain and focus ones attention. During a simple mindfulness based breath awareness meditation, sustained attention is required to maintain focus on the breath while meta-cognitive awareness and executive control are required to detect and correct mind wandering. The purpose of this thesis was to investigate whether a simple, mindfulness based breath awareness meditation, administered over a short period to meditation naïve individuals could modulate core attentional functions and associated task related neural activity. Two longitudinal randomised control studies were conducted. The aim of the first study was to establish if said modulations were possible in a sample of healthy adults, meeting a current research need for longitudinal evidence in this field and providing important information regarding a potential mechanism for the salutary effects widely observed from the use of mindfulness based interventions. It was found that short term engagement with a mindfulness based breath awareness meditation can modulate core attentional functions and task related neural activity, with specific modulations found in electrophysiological markers of sustained attention to the goal/task at hand and perceptual stimulus discrimination. In line with current theoretical models it is argued that modulations to such core attentional processes following short term training may provide a platform upon which mindfulness related salutary effects are built. The second study was designed to establish if such modulations were possible in older adults. It is argued that mindfulness training may have utility for increasing cognitive reserve, a potential mechanism by which age related declines in cognitive functions may be mitigated. It was found that both behavioural and electrophysiological markers of core attentional functions were modulated following 8 weeks mindfulness training but not following a matched active control group condition (simple brain training exercises). The reviewed extant evidence and findings of this study suggest that mindfulness meditation may enhance cognitive reserve through the repeated activation of attentional functions and associated neural activity during practice and are consistent with recent theoretical models of cognitive reserve. The potential for mindfulness training to positively modulate core attentional functions in older adults and to potentially impact cognitive ageing demands further investigation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:40:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carla Nunes Cantiere.pdf: 1519984 bytes, checksum: 41cacc5c24655360da688012eeb9606f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-05 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / According to the literature, neuropsychological intervention has demonstrated efficacy in improving cognitive functions, in the performance of daily activities and in increasing the quality of life of patients with diseases that affect the nervous system. This work aims to face an exploratory study to implement and evaluate indicators of improvement for a program of intervention for neuropsychological skills training attention and cognitive flexibility in children with signs of inattention and hyperactivity. The study included four individuals aged between 8 and 12, without intellectual deficits, and behavioral indicators of inattention and or hyperactivity, referred by their parents and teachers. The participants underwent a pre-intervention assessment, with the use of inventories of behavioral profiles, tests of voluntary, automatic and temporal attention, executive function and resistance to distraction, and speed of cognitive processing. After the initial assessment, 15 meetings were held with each participant, one a week, with an average duration of 60 minutes each day, in which activities directed to attention and cognitive flexibility were held. At the end of the intervention, participants were reassessed by the same behavioral and neuropsychological instruments and the data was compared with the pre-assessment ones. All the sessions were attended by an observer, in order to register and evaluate the intervention. For this aim, an observation protocol, to categorize targets behaviors in ADHD, was used. It was found that, in most of the studied cases, different kind of behavioral and cognitive indicators were improved, as the reduction of inattention and hyperactivity behavior and the presence of a higher number of correct answers, fewer omissions, decrease of the reaction time and continuous decline due to the interval in applied neuropsychological and computerized tests. In other words, there are important indicators of the improvement of children after the intervention, which may reflect in terms of educational development and social inclusion of the participants. / De acordo com a literatura a intervenção neuropsicológica tem demonstrado eficácia na melhora das funções cognitivas, no desempenho das atividades cotidianas e no aumento da qualidade de vida de pacientes com diferentes tipos de doenças que afetam o sistema nervoso. Este trabalho tem por objetivo, como um estudo exploratório, desenvolver, implementar e avaliar indicadores de melhora de um programa de intervenção neuropsicológica para treino de habilidades de atenção e flexibilidade cognitiva em crianças com sinais de desatenção e hiperatividade. Participaram deste estudo 4 indivíduos com idade entre 8 e 12 anos, sem déficit intelectual e com indicadores comportamentais de desatenção e/ou hiperatividade referidos por seus pais e professores. Os participantes foram submetidos a uma avaliação pré-intervenção, utilizando inventários de perfis comportamentais, testes de atenção voluntária, automática e temporal, função executiva e resistência à distração e velocidade de processamento cognitivo. Após a avaliação inicial, foram realizados 15 encontros com cada participante, um por semana, com duração média de 60 minutos cada, nos quais foram feitas atividades lúdicas direcionadas à atenção e à flexibilidade cognitiva. Ao final das intervenções, os participantes foram reavaliados pelos mesmos instrumentos comportamentais e neuropsicológicos e os dados comparados aos da pré-avaliação. Em todas as sessões houve a participação de um observador, com o intuito de registrar a intervenção. Para tanto, utilizou-se um protocolo de observação para categorizar comportamentos alvos no TDAH. Verificou-se que na maioria dos casos estudados foi possível observar melhora de diferentes tipos de indicadores comportamentais e cognitivos como a redução dos comportamentos de desatenção e hiperatividade e a presença de uma quantidade maior de acertos, menor número de omissões, redução de ensaios administrados, diminuição do tempo de reação e declínio contínuo em função do intervalo nos testes neuropsicológicos e computadorizados aplicados. Ou seja, há indicadores importantes sobre a melhora das crianças após a intervenção o que pode refletir em termos do desenvolvimento quanto a inserção educacional e social dos participantes.

Durant la dernière décennie, la recherche sur les jeux vidéo et leur implication sur les habiletés perceptivo-cognitives a gagné en intérêt. Plusieurs études ont démontré que les jeux vidéo (particulièrement les jeux d’action) possèdent la capacité d’influencer et d’améliorer différentes aptitudes perceptives et cognitives telles que l’attention visuo-spatiale, la vitesse de traitement de l’information, la mémoire visuelle à court terme ainsi que la poursuite d’objets en mouvement. Cependant, plusieurs autres études n’ont pas réussi à reproduire les mêmes résultats. D’un autre côté, un nouveau type d’entraînement perceptivo-cognitif, nommé 3-Dimensional Multiple-Object Tracking (3D-MOT), et qui consiste à traiter des scènes visuelles dynamiques dénuées de contexte, a démontré son implication sur différents types d’attention, la mémoire de travail ainsi que la vitesse de traitement de l’information. L’étude actuelle a examiné quatre groupes de joueurs inexpérimentés qui s’entrainaient durant 10 séances à l’aide d’un exercice perceptivo-cognitif (3D-MOT), ou d’un jeu de haut niveau visuel (jeu vidéo d’action : Call of Duty), de bas niveau visuel (Tetris) ou d’un jeu non-visuel (Sudoku). Des mesures d’électroencéphalographie quantitative et des tests neuropsychologiques effectués avant et après l’entraînement ont démontré que le 3D-MOT, par comparaison aux autres jeux testés, améliorait de façon plus efficace les fonctions reliées à l’attention, la mémoire de travail ainsi que la vitesse de traitement de l’information. Pour la première fois, cette étude démontre que l’entraînement non-contextuel de 3D-MOT améliore les habiletés perceptivo-cognitives plus efficacement que l’entraînement à des jeux de divertissement tels que les jeux vidéo. / In the past decade, research on video games and their implications on cognitive abilities have gained significant interest. Various studies suggest that video games (in particular action video games) have the inherent ability to influence and improve attentional abilities such as visual spatial attention, processing speed, visual short-term memory and multiple-object tracking. However, many other studies have been unable to replicate similar results. On the other hand, a recent cognitive enhancement tool that is visually dynamic and void of context called 3-Dimensional Multiple-Object tracking (3D-MOT), has demonstrated robust effects on cognitive-perceptual abilities such as divided, selective, and sustained attention as well as working memory and information processing speed. The current study examines four groups of non-video game players that train for 10 sessions on the cognitive enhancing technique (3D-MOT) or on one of three different visually stimulating games: highly visually stimulating game (Call of Duty), lowly visually stimulating game (Tetris), or non-visually stimulating puzzle (Sudoku). A battery of cognitive tests and quantitative electroencephalography preformed before and after training, demonstrated that training on 3D-MOT improved cognitive functions related to attention, working memory, and visual information processing compared to video games. For the first time, this study demonstrated that non-contextual training with 3D-MOT improves perceptual-cognitive abilities more efficiently than video game playing.

With the growing older adult population, neurodegenerative diseases common in old age such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Parkinson’s disease (PD) are becoming increasingly germane areas of research. Pharmacological treatments have thus far been unsuccessful in treating cognitive decline associated with these neurodegenerative disorders. Alternative interventions, such as cognitive training programs, have shown promise. The current dissertation contains three papers examining cognitive interventions in neurodegenerative diseases. The first paper examined the longitudinal effects of cognitive speed of processing training (SPT) among those with PD. Results showed that training gains seen at initial post-test were maintained three months later. The second paper examined the effects of SPT among those with psychometrically-defined MCI and found small to medium effect sizes for improvements in everyday functional performance among those trained. The third paper examined the effects of auditory cognitive training among cognitively healthy older adults and those with psychometrically-defined MCI and found that effects may differ between those with and with MCI. Overall, these papers show that training effects can be maintained longitudinally and may potentially transfer to everyday functioning in those with neurodegenerative diseases. However, not all cognitive training programs show benefits in all areas, and individuals with differing cognitive statuses may benefit differentially from cognitive training. Future research should further explore the longitudinal effects of these training programs as well as the possibility of transfer to untrained abilities.

The capability to change and adapt, known as plasticity, is one of the most impressive features of the human brain. It is most pronounced during childhood development. While a child acquires various cognitive skills, the brain matures alongside. Language learning is such a process that occurs naturally across childhood development, supposedly within a sensitive period. Originally, the sensitive period for language acquisition was thought to close at puberty, after which language learning was believed to be near impossible. This view has since been challenged and it is now suggested that there are multiple sensitive periods for various aspects of language acquisition. Some aspects are rather well established, e.g. the vocabulary spurt, while others, e.g. comprehension of complex sentences, are not yet fully understood. I was interested in whether and how these two aspects of language learning could be ad- vanced through training within the framework of sensitive periods and how this related to structural plasticity in the healthy developing brain. First, natural gray matter maturation was examined. The results support the existing literature of different trajectories for each gray matter mea- sure and provide new evidence for the widespread maturational process of cortical thinning to be in progress already at four years of age. Second, a word learning training was applied to investigate underlying plastic changes during an ongoing sensitive period of word learning. I found that language-specific inferior frontal areas, as well as domain-general parietal regions, responded to training with gray matter changes. Third, training-induced plasticity was examined at the onset of a sensitive period for complex syntax comprehension. Here, frontal domain-general regions showed plastic changes, but no language-specific regions were engaged. This study underlines the importance of task demands and the crucial role of general processes (e. g. attention and memory) under- lying higher-order tasks such as language learning. The changes to the gray matter structure as a function of language training during specific points in sensitive periods of language acquisition are discussed and I point out how these findings compliment and extend the current literature on brain plasticity in childhood development in the context of cognitive training.

This diploma thesis focuses on the issue of seniors in transportation and examines the typical causes of traffic accidents caused by the participation of persons of this age category. The theoretical part of the thesis explains the demographic development of the society with regard to the population’s mobility and describes the personality of the person in the transport environment from the traffic psychology point of view focusing on seniors. The empirical part of the thesis focuses on the analysis of traffic accidents with the participation of seniors, defining the causes. It sets out the practical tools that can be used to objectively assess the driver's ability to drive in terms of driver's age and the possibility of reducing the number of traffic accidents caused by the elderly.

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Children with ADHD are characterized frequently as possessing underdeveloped executive functions and sustained attentional abilities, and recent commercial claims suggest that computer-based cognitive training can remediate these impairments and provide significant and lasting improvement in their attention, impulse control, social functioning, academic performance, and complex reasoning skills. The present review critically evaluates these claims through meta-analysis of 25 studies of facilitative intervention training (i.e., cognitive training) for children with ADHD. Random effects models corrected for publication bias and sampling error revealed that studies training short-term memory alone resulted in moderate magnitude improvements in short-term memory (d= 0.63), whereas training attention did not significantly improve attention and training mixed executive functions did not significantly improve the targeted executive functions (both nonsignificant: 95% confidence intervals include 0.0). Far transfer effects of cognitive training on academic functioning, blinded ratings of behavior (both nonsignificant), and cognitive tests (d= 0.14) were nonsignificant or negligible. Unblinded raters (d= 0.48) reported significantly larger benefits relative to blinded raters and objective tests (both p < .05), indicating the likelihood of Hawthorne effects. Critical examination of training targets revealed incongruence with empirical evidence regarding the specific executive functions that are (a) most impaired in ADHD, and (b) functionally related to the behavioral and academic outcomes these training programs are intended to ameliorate. Collectively, meta-analytic results indicate that claims regarding the academic, behavioral, and cognitive benefits associated with extant cognitive training programs are unsupported in ADHD. The methodological limitations of the current evidence base, however, leaves open the possibility that cognitive training techniques iv designed to improve empirically documented executive function deficits may benefit children with ADHD.