Compensatory Brain Activity in Older Adults.

NCT06235840 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 2017/25/B/HS6/00360
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 117
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

There are two important aspects in which the present project will allow to enrich our understanding of compensatory brain activity in older adults. First, in the studies that have been conducted so far the compensatory brain activity in older adults was investigated primarily with the use of the functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) or positon emission tomography (PET). In order to identify compensatory activity in our study we will use electroencephalographic markers (observable in EEG). It will allow to confirm the assumptions about compensatory brain activity relying on new data, as in EEG research the brain markers of the same cognitive processes are different from those used in fMRI and PET research. What is more, in the studies conducted so far brain activity in older adults was only registered and interpreted, whereas the present study additionally adds the training component. The aim of our study is to see if it is possible to influence the compensatory brain activity through cognitive functions training, relying on working memory training. Theoretically, such a training should optimize brain activity in older adults, namely evoke compensatory brain activity during difficult tasks in order to make them easier, whereas in the case of easy tasks it should lead to the disappearance of the need to trigger compensatory activity. This assumption will be verified in an experimental setting. The participants will be divided into six groups: two experimental (the groups of young and old adults), and by analogy two active control groups and two passive (no-contact) control groups. The experiment was designed in the following way: (1) All groups will be subjected to pre-test measurements that will be EEG registration during a cognitive task execution at different difficulty levels; (2) Experimental groups will undergo working memory training. Over the period of 4 weeks participants in the experimental groups will take part in 12 training sessions. In the active control groups instead of the n-back training the practice of tasks which do not involve working memory will be introduced. Participants of the passive control groups will be awaiting post-test (no-contact control); (3) In all groups post-test measurements will be administered analogically to the pre-test measurements in order to assess changes in cognitive tasks performance and related brain activity.

Conditions

Old Age; Dementia; Aging; Cognitive Decline

Keywords

cognitive intervention; cognitive training; cognitive aging; neuroplasticity; compensatory brain activity; eeg

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (7)

• Change EEG power in theta, alpha and gamma bands (n-back task)

  The neural brain activity accompanying cognitive engagement during the n-back task execution. EEG data will be obtained from 32 Ag/AgCl electrodes (left: Fp1, AF3, F3, F7, FC1, FC5, C3, CP1, CP5, F7, P3, P7, PO3, O1; right: Fp2, AF4, F4, F8, FC2, FC6, C4, CP2, CP6, F8, P4, P8, PO4, O2; midline: Fz, Cz, Pz, Oz) placed in accordance with the 10-20 international system and referenced to the right and left earlobes.

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

• Change n-back task

  Accuracy and reaction times in the n-back task indicated by the senstitivity index

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

• Change in EEG power in theta, alpha and gamma bands (GoNoGo task)

  The neural brain activity accompanying cognitive engagement during the GoNoGo task execution. EEG data will be obtained from 32 Ag/AgCl electrodes (left: Fp1, AF3, F3, F7, FC1, FC5, C3, CP1, CP5, F7, P3, P7, PO3, O1; right: Fp2, AF4, F4, F8, FC2, FC6, C4, CP2, CP6, F8, P4, P8, PO4, O2; midline: Fz, Cz, Pz, Oz) placed in accordance with the 10-20 international system and referenced to the right and left earlobes.

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

• Change in GoNoGo task

  Accuracy and reaction times in the GoNoGo task.

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

• Change in EEG power in theta, alpha and gamma bands (Stroop task)

  The neural brain activity accompanying cognitive engagement during the Stroop task execution. EEG data will be obtained from 32 Ag/AgCl electrodes (left: Fp1, AF3, F3, F7, FC1, FC5, C3, CP1, CP5, F7, P3, P7, PO3, O1; right: Fp2, AF4, F4, F8, FC2, FC6, C4, CP2, CP6, F8, P4, P8, PO4, O2; midline: Fz, Cz, Pz, Oz) placed in accordance with the 10-20 international system and referenced to the right and left earlobes.

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

• Change in Stroop task

  Accuracy and reaction times in the Stroop task

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

• Change in OSpan task

  Accuracy in the OSpan task

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (3)

• Change in Digit Span

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

• Change in Digit-Symbol

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

• Change in Raven's SPM

  change from baseline at 4 weeks

Other Outcomes (4)

• M.I.N.I. Screen 7.0.2

  On the first day of participation in the study, successively for the following participants over 3 years

• Structured interview

  On the first day of participation in the study, successively for the following participants over 3 years

• MMSE

  On the 1st day of participation in the study of each older adult, successively for the following participants over 3 years

Study Arms (3)

Working memory adaptive cognitive training

EXPERIMENTAL

In the intervention, the n-back task involving working memory in terms of its content updating was applied. This task is based on the continuous presentation of items (letters in this study) that appear and disappear one by one. During each presentation, the participant must judge whether the currently displayed item matches the item presented 'n' trials earlier. The n-back task used in the current study was computerized and was programmed in PsychoPy software. All participants started their training from the 1-back level. The training was adaptive, meaning that, according to the performance accuracy achieved, participants progressed to higher (or dropped to lower) levels of difficulty. The increasing/decreasing difficulty was based on a rise/fall in the 'n' parameter. Participants were involved in 12 sessions, three in each of the four weeks. Each session lasted approximately 45 minutes.

Behavioral: working memory adaptive training

Multi-domain non-adaptive cognitive training

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Non-adaptive multi-domain computerized training included tasks involving: visual-spatial functions, visual and verbal memory, reasoning on visual and verbal material, and calculia. Participants were involved in 12 sessions, three in each of the four weeks. Each session lasted approximately 45 minutes.

Behavioral: multi-domain non-adaptive control training

No contact

NO INTERVENTION

The passive control group was the no-contact group. Participants had no contact with the researcher for 4 weeks, corresponding to the duration of the intervention (training) in the experimental group.

Interventions

working memory adaptive training BEHAVIORAL

The computerized n-back training lasted 4 weeks and consisted of 12 training sessions, 3 per week, about 45 minutes for each

Working memory adaptive cognitive training

multi-domain non-adaptive control training BEHAVIORAL

The cognitive training in active control groups included cognitive tasks involving: visual-spatial functions, visual and verbal memory, reasoning on visual and verbal material, and calculia. The training schedule in active control groups was the same as in the experimental groups.

Multi-domain non-adaptive cognitive training

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 20 Years - 75 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age: belonging to one of the age groups - older adults (60-75 years old) or young adults (20-35 years old). The 60-75 age group limits the influence of the advance of various age-related changes, and at the same time, this group is classified as early late-adulthood. The 20-35 group, on the other hand, falls within early adulthood (Sugarman, 2001);
• No history of mental illness;
• No history of neurological disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, or severe head injuries.
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision;
• Intellectual norm;
• No dementia symptoms (in old adults);
• No visible abnormal brain activity in EEG (verifiable only in the pre-test);
• Signing an informed consent to participate in the study (after familiarizing oneself with the aim of the study and the conditions of participation, as well as having received satisfactory answers to all questions).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Kazimierz Wielki University: lead
• National Science Centre, Poland: collaborator
• John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Kazimierz Wielki University, Faculty of Psychology

Bydgoszcz, Polska, 85-867, Poland

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Zajac-Lamparska L. Limited training and transfer effects in older and young adults who participated in 12 sessions of process-based working memory training. A three-armed pretest-posttest design study. BMC Res Notes. 2024 Jun 28;17(1):181. doi: 10.1186/s13104-024-06844-2.

  PMID: 38943197 DERIVED

Related Links

• project website

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease; Cognitive Dysfunction

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Dementia; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders; Cognition Disorders

Study Officials

• Ludmiła Zając-Lamparska, Professor

  Kazimierz Wielki University

  STUDY CHAIR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Model Details: A pretest-posttest study design with one experimental group and two control (passive and active control) groups was applied.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 10, 2020
• First Posted: February 1, 2024
• Study Start: November 29, 2018
• Primary Completion: January 24, 2023
• Study Completion: January 24, 2024
• Last Updated: February 1, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

PL (1)