Eficacia de un programa de entrenamiento en memoria en el mantenimiento de ancianos con y sin deterioro cognitivo Effectiveness of a memory training programme in the maintenance of status in the derly people with and without cognitive decline

The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of memory training on cognitive maintenance in older adults with and without cognitive decline. Method: 98 older adults participated in the study (59 in the treatment group and 39 in the control group). Subjects were evaluated at three points in time using diverse cognitive functioning tests –before training, immediately after training, and nine months after training. Subjects in the treatment group participated in a memory-training programme during 14 sessions. Results: Older adults in the treatment group improved their cognitive performance in the post-training tests, while members of the control group presented a decline. Thus, while there were no initial significant inter-group differences, these differences became apparent after the training phase. Conclusions: The results show the positive effects of this type of training when working with the older adult population.