A Meta-analysis of Cognitive Training on Memory Functioning in Normal Elderly Adults

Abstract

Introduction

The major issues in cognitive literature related to memory and aging concentrate on the different methodological issues in research examining the effectiveness of memory training programs in improving memory performance of older adults along with the clinical implications of this kind of research.

Objectives

The review will address how researchers differ within their collection of participants, the various aspects of memory intervention programs by a systematic review on recent researches.

Aims

The present study aims to review the cognitive literature related to memory and aging through a meta-analysis in recent years.

Method

Meta-analysis was conducted of researches on memory training interventions for cognitively normal/healthy older adults published in 1995–2014. Computerized databases (e.g PsychInfo) were searched using combinations of these key words in English: memory, mnemonic, rehabilitation, older adult, aging, elderly and impairment. All participants must be at least 55 years old at the time of training/intervention. Due to the fact and Studies must have used a non-pharmacological approach toward memory or memory problems. Between-study heterogeneity was quantified using χ2 and I2 statistics. All analyses were performed utilizing the CMA2.

Results

Effect sizes with 95% confidence intervals for each study indicated that the overall pre-post training gain was 0.37 SD (95% CI: 0.18, 0.47) and the mean retest effect among control groups was 0.11 SD (95% CI: −0.11, 0.16) and this difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The key challenge of memory training studies is that they often don’t train abilities that generalize to everyday functioning. These results have numerous clinical and practical implications.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.