Email this page  Print this page  del.icio.us  digg

Mental exercises can improve elderly thinking skills

Certain mental exercises can offset some of the expected decline in older adults' thinking skills and show promise for maintaining cognitive abilities needed to do everyday tasks such as shopping, making meals and handling finances, according to a new study.

The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly Study is the first randomized, controlled trial to demonstrate long-lasting, positive effects of brief cognitive training in older adults. However, testing indicated that the training did not improve the participants' ability to tackle everyday tasks, and more research is needed to translate the findings from the laboratory into interventions that prove effective at home.

The research, funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, showed that some of the benefits of short-term cognitive training persisted for as long as five years.

For information on the institute and the study visit www.nia.nih.gov, or call (800) 222-2225.