Description
With the gradual increase in longevity and baby boomers becoming 65 and older, more people are at risk for developing age related mild to severe cognitive impairments; in particular, episodic memory impairment (EM). Memory impairment is among one of the greatest cognitive complaints in the aging community. In many cases the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are indicated by mild memory impairment. AD is a grievous age related, presently incurable, neurodegenerative condition that currently afflicts more than 5.2 million Americans. Over the past decade neuroscientists have explored the brain's natural ability to reorganize itself (neuroplasticity) as a means to preserve, enhance, or slow down memory decline in older adults. Brain training programs specifically designed to stimulate brain regions associated with auditory and visual information processing; attention, and memory have produced positive outcomes on cognitive exams as well as subjective reports. Although these reports are promising, research is needed to understand to what extent these effects generalize to other memory tasks. In order to determine if specialized brain training programs may have a positive effect on EM performance across modalities this study analyzed archival data from 25 individuals, who were fifty-five and older, on their odor memory ability following the participation in a San Diego Community Adult Continuing Education Auditory Brain Fitness Program. Odor memory performances before and after training were measured using the California Odor Learning Test (COLT). Additionally, to elucidated possible direct effects of odor training 11 of the 25 participants had been given additional COLT learning trials. COLT performances between and within subjects were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures. We hypothesize significant improvements on odor memory following training, with the group receiving additional trials of the COLT showing the greatest improvement. The results of this study will contribute knowledge to the understanding of possible age-related EM memory benefits associated with scientifically designed computerized brain-training programs.
