ABSTRACT
Examination of the range and limits of cognitive developmental reserve capacity (plasticity) by means of cognitive training has been proffered as a promising diagnostic strategy for the early identification of Alzheimer's disease. Previous findings of differential gains after cognitive training for healthy older persons and older persons at risk for dementia were supported, rendering cognitive plasticity a criterion by which the overlap in performance distributions between healthy older persons and older persons at risk can be reduced. Stepwise hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that posttraining scores, which represented developmental reserve capacity, explained significantly more variance in mental health status than pretest or baseline performance. Older persons at risk profited significantly less from training in 2 components of fluid intelligence, figural relations, and inductive reasoning. The authors discuss the possibilities of turning this testing-the-limits procedure into an instrument for screening purposes in clinical practice.
Subject(s)
Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis , Cognition Disorders/diagnosis , Individuality , Intelligence , Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alzheimer Disease/psychology , Alzheimer Disease/rehabilitation , Attention , Cognition Disorders/psychology , Cognition Disorders/rehabilitation , Discrimination Learning , Female , Humans , Male , Mental Recall , Middle Aged , Pattern Recognition, Visual , Problem SolvingABSTRACT
Examination of the range and limits of cognitive reserve capacity (plasticity) by means of cognitive training is proffered as a promising diagnostic strategy for the early (premorbid) identification of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease, in nonclinical populations. First data are presented from a sample of elderly independent-living people classified as healthy or at risk (beginning dementia) on the basis of a standardized psychiatric interview. Randomly assigned groups participated in a cognitive training program based on figural relations, a component of fluid intelligence. Stepwise regression analyses demonstrated that only healthy elderly profited from training and that only post-training scores predicted the psychiatric "at risk" diagnosis. The results hold promise for further development of testing-the-limits of individual differences in cognitive reserve capacity to identify premorbid states of dementia in nonclinical samples.