Better Memory With Literacy Acquisition Later in Life

University of California, San Francisco108 enrolled

Overview

This study aims to discover whether acquiring basic-literacy in adulthood can improve episodic memory and brain structural and functional connectivity. In a collaborative project between Brazil and USA, the investigators will use a randomized controlled trial approach to leverage the level of evidence of the benefits of basic adult-education as a possible cognitive reserve builder. If successful, the study's findings will be important in shaping policies targeting increasing access to late-life education to reduce dementia risk.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Enrollment

108

Conditions

Memory Impairment

Interventions

Literacy trainingBEHAVIORAL

Teaching adults how to read and write using the analytical and phonemic method

Non-Literacy trainingBEHAVIORAL

Attending classes in geography, history, sciences, without receiving the specific training in literacy

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 40 YearsMax age: 89 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: Being illiterate (TOFHLA score \<53) and availability to participate in the study for at least 12 months Exclusion Criteria: A) Presence of remarkable cognitive complains and/or decompensated psychiatric illness (depression and anxiety) and/or current substance abuse such as alcohol and illicit drugs use. B) Objective cognitive impairment: score of 2 standard deviations or bellow for age and education on the Mini-Mental State Evaluation (MMSE) and/or score of 6 or lower on the delayed recall task from the Brief Cognitive Battery. C) History of previously diagnosed dyslexia D) Formal MRI contraindications including metal or claustrophobia. E) Severe structural lesions detected by MRI.

Locations (1)

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais

Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Episodic Memory Improvement

Change in free recall sum-of-attempts of the Free and Cued Selective Reminding with Immediate Recall (FCSR) test. The Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) is an episodic memory test. First, the participant learns 16 figures, 4 each time, with the help of semantic cues provided by the examiner. After that, the participant recalls the figures 3 times, with a distraction activity between each attempt (counting 20 to 1 backwards). The sum of each immediate free recall is called sum of attempts. It ranges from 0 (the participant does not recall any figure in three attempts) to 48 (the participant recalls all the figures). The higher the score, the better the participant's episodic memory.

Time frame: Baseline and 6 months

Secondary Outcomes

Change in Brain Connectivity

The intrinsic functional connectivity will be measured using the BOLD (blood oxygen level dependent) that is calculated through resting state functional MRIs that will be performed at baseline and at 6 months follow up. After preprocessing the images and accounting for potential cofounders (head motion signal, cerebral spinal signal, physiological signal and white matter signal), the BOLD signal is measured and coregistered in T1 images for anatomical correspondence of the signal. Then, a seed is placed in the hippocampus and the BOLD signal between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex is calculated at baseline and at 6 months follow up. The higher the value, the more the regions are connected. Change in the intrinsic functional connectivity between the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex.

Time frame: Baseline and 6 months

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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