This study will evaluate the efficacy of working memory training in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Working memory (WM) is the ability to hold information actively in mind and is fundamental for higher-order cognition. This pilot study aims to (1) evaluate the efficacy of WM training in older adults with MCI and (2) understand if and how it works. The study will use behavioral and brain imaging assessments to see whether WM training changes how participants learn and remember information. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) methods will be used. The study will also use cognitive tests and questionnaires to determine whether participants' cognitive abilities change with training. The study will enroll participants with a diagnosis of MCI as well as cognitively intact older adults (healthy controls, HC).
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
24
A 10-session working memory (WM) training program
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Gains in WM training task performance
Analyses of WM performance for each training session indexed as the mean set-size achieved during each training session for each participant
Time frame: 2 weeks
Changes in brain activation within the WM network
Univariate analyses via fMRI and fNIRS, respectively, using units of brain activation (i.e., contrast estimates)
Time frame: 2 weeks
Changes in criterion (fMRI) WM task performance
Analyses of WM performance indexed as percent accuracy
Time frame: 2 weeks
Changes in functional connectivity within and between canonical brain networks
Graph theory analysis via fMRI and fNIRS, respectively, using measures of connectivity strength (i.e., correlation coefficients)
Time frame: 2 weeks
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