Efeito de um programa de treinamento da memória de trabalho em adultos idosos / Effect of a working memory training program in older adults

Este estudo objetivou examinar os efeitos de um Treinamento da Memória de Trabalho (TMT) em idosos saudáveis. Vinte participantes compuseram a amostra final, onze do grupo experimental (TMT) e nove do controle (socialização). Todos foram submetidos a uma avaliação neuropsicológica pré e pós-intervenção. Os encontros foram realizados uma vez por semana, durante três meses. Houve melhora significativa, no grupo experimental, em atenção concentrada, aprendizagem, memória de curto prazo e episódica, e no grupo controle, em um menor número de variáveis, na atenção concentrada e memória episódica. O TMT parece ter promovido efeito de transferência, principalmente na memória episódica, que é relacionada diretamente aos subsistemas da memória de trabalho (MT), sugerindo que o TMT pode ser útil no contexto da neuropsicologia do envelhecimento.

The present study examined the effects of a Working Memory Training (WMT) in healthy elderly. Twenty participants comprised the final sample, eleven from the experimental group (WMT) and nine from the control group (socialization). Every subject underwent a neuropsychological evaluation pre and post-intervention. The meetings were held once a week, for three months. Results indicated that subjects in the experimental group improved cognitive functions related to concentrated attention, learning, short-term and episodic memory. Subjects in the control group also demonstrated, in a smaller number of variables, improvement in concentrated attention and episodic memory. WMT seems to have generated a transfer effect, especially to episodic memory, which is directly related to the subsystem of working memory (WM), suggesting that WMT may be useful in the context of the neuropsychology of aging.

Association between functional alterations of senescence and senility and disorders of gait and balance

OBJECTIVES: Declines in cognition and mobility are frequently observed in the elderly, and it has been suggested that the appearance of gait disorders in older individuals may constitute a marker of cognitive decline that precedes significant findings in functional performance screening tests. This study sought to evaluate the relationship between functional capacities and gait and balance in an elderly community monitored by the Preventive and Integrated Care Unit of the Hospital Adventista Silvestre in Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. METHODS: Elderly individuals (193 females and 90 males) were submitted to a broad geriatric evaluation, which included the following tests: 1) a performance-oriented mobility assessment (POMA) to evaluate gait; 2) a mini-mental state examination (MMSE); 3) the use of Katz and Lawton scales to assess functional capacity; 4) the application of the geriatric depression scale (GDS); and 5) a mini-nutritional assessment (MNA) scale. RESULTS: Reductions in MMSE, Katz and Lawton scores were associated with reductions in POMA scores, and we also observed that significant reductions in POMA scores were present in persons for whom the MMSE and Katz scores did not clearly indicate cognitive dysfunction. We also demonstrated that a decline in the scores obtained with the GDS and MNA scales was associated with a decline in the POMA scores. CONCLUSIONS: Considering that significant alterations in the POMA scores were observed prior to the identification of significant alterations in cognitive capacity using either the MMSE or the Katz systems, a prospective study seems warranted to assess the predictive capacity of POMA scores regarding the associated decline in functional capacity.