Is combined mental training better for older adults' memory?
While combining executive function and memory training improves a broader range of mental skills, training memory strategies alone leads to greater memory improvements.
Source
Combined Cognitive Training vs. Memory Strategy Training in Healthy Older Adults
What they did
The researchers assigned participants to either a combined cognitive training group, a pure memory strategy training group, or a control group. Both training groups completed 16 sessions of training over about 6 weeks, with each session lasting around 60 minutes. The pure memory group practiced only techniques like the method of loci, while the combined group split their time, receiving 8 sessions of executive function training and 8 sessions of memory training.
What they found
The memory-only group showed significant improvements on memory tests compared to the control group, whereas the combined group showed only marginal memory improvements. However, only the combined group showed significant gains in executive function tasks like updating. At a follow-up assessment 4 months later, both training groups maintained their cognitive improvements.
The limits
What it doesn't show
The study did not match baseline performance across groups, partly because the control group's data was collected a year after the other groups. Additionally, the small sample size of the study limits its statistical power, making it harder to generalise these findings. Finally, because the control group was not tested at the 4-month follow-up, the researchers could not fully rule out practice effects.
Key terms
- Method of loci
- A mnemonic technique where individuals associate items with specific physical landmarks along a well-known mental route.
- Executive function
- A set of cognitive processes including working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control that help manage goal-directed behaviors.
- Mnemonic utilization deficit
- A phenomenon where someone learns and uses a memory strategy but does not yet experience an improvement in actual memory performance.
- Updating
- The cognitive ability to monitor, evaluate, and rapidly replace old information in working memory with newer, relevant input.
- Switching cost
- The performance delay or drop in accuracy that happens when a person shifts attention from one task or cognitive rule to another.
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Quiz yourself
What was the main hypothesis regarding combined cognitive training compared to pure memory strategy training?
Common questions
Why did the combined training group perform worse on memory tests than the pure memory group?
The combined group spent only half as much time practicing memory strategies (8 sessions) compared to the pure memory group (16 sessions), which likely limited their mastery of the techniques.
How did the researchers measure executive function in this study?
They used updating tasks that required participants to track and report changing categories of words or pictures, alongside task-switching exercises.
What are the real-world implications of these findings for older adults?
For targeted memory improvements, focused memory strategy training is most efficient, but combined training is better if the goal is a broader boost to cognitive flexibility and processing speed.
Did the participants' cognitive improvements last over time?
Yes, both training groups showed sustained performance gains 4 months after completing their training, though practice effects from repeated testing may also have contributed.
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