Enhancement of Visuospatial Working Memory by the Differential Outcomes Procedure in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease

Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

Angeles F. Estévez¹  Magda Tsolaki³  Aristea I. Ladas⁴  Ana B. Vivas⁴  Antonia Ypsilanti⁵  Foteini Kounti⁶ 

[1] CERNEP Research Center, Universidad de Almería, Almería, Spain;Departamento de Psicología, Universidad de Almería, Almería, Spain;Department of Neurology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece;Department of Psychology, CITY College, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield, Thessaloniki, Greece;Department of Psychology, Sociology and Politics, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, United Kingdom;Greek Association of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders, Thessaloniki, Greece;

关键词: differential outcomes procedure;    spatial recognition memory;    mild cognitive impairment;    Alzheimer’s disease;    cognitive intervention;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnagi.2018.00364

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In the present study we investigated the efficacy of the differential outcomes procedure (DOP) to improve visuospatial working memory in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The DOP associates correct responses to the to-be-remember stimulus with unique outcomes. Eleven patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, 11 participants with MCI, and 17 healthy matched controls performed a spatial delayed memory task under the DOP and a control condition (non-differential outcomes –NOP-). We found that performance (terminal accuracy) was significantly better in the DOP condition relative to the NOP condition in all three groups of participants. AD patients performed worse, and took longer to benefit from the DOP. In line with previous animal and human research, we propose that the DOP activates brain structures and cognitive mechanisms that are less affected by healthy and pathological aging, optimizing in this way the function of the cognitive system.

【 授权许可】

Unknown