ScienceDaily: Latest Science News: Memory improves for older adults using computerized brain-fitness program

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Breaking science news and articles on global warming, extrasolar planets, stem cells, bird flu, autism, nanotechnology, dinosaurs, evolution -- the latest discoveries in astronomy, anthropology, biology, chemistry, climate and environment, computers, engineering, health and medicine, math, physics, psychology, technology, and more -- from the world's leading universities and research organizations.

Memory improves for older adults using computerized brain-fitness program
http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/UgIgXxfJ1T8/130625172352.htm
Jun 25th 2013, 21:23

June 25, 2013 — UCLA researchers have found that older adults who regularly used a brain-fitness program on a computer demonstrated significantly improved memory and language skills.
The UCLA team studied 69 dementia-free participants, with an average age of 82, who were recruited from retirement communities in Southern California. The participants played a computerized brain-fitness program called Dakim BrainFitness, which trains individuals through more than 400 exercises in the areas of short- and long-term memory, language, visual-spatial processing, reasoning and problem-solving, and calculation skills.
The researchers found that of the 69 participants, the 52 individuals who over a six-month period completed at least 40 sessions (of 20 minutes each) on the program showed improvement in both immediate and delayed memory skills, as well as language skills.
The findings suggest that older adults who participate in computerized brain training can improve their cognitive skills.
The study's findings add to a body of research exploring whether brain fitness tools may help improve language and memory and ultimately help protect individuals from the cognitive decline associated with aging and Alzheimer's disease.
Age-related memory decline affects approximately 40 percent of older adults. And while previous studies have shown that engaging in stimulating mental activities can help older adults improve their memory, little research had been done to determine whether the numerous computerized brain-fitness games and memory training programs on the market are effective in improving memory. This is one of the first studies to assess the cognitive effects of a computerized memory-training program.
The study is published in the July issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: 'You Say What You Like, Because They Like What You Say' - http://www.medialens.org/index.php/alerts/alert-archive/alerts-2013/731-you-say-what-you-like-because-they-like-what-you-say.html



You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at http://blogtrottr.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe here:
http://blogtrottr.com/unsubscribe/cz0/tSbHWJ