Playing games to train your brain into a better memory may not be just the stuff of bad app-store advertising, according to a new study two decades in the making.
Research published in the journal “Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions” on Feb. 9 found that adults who engaged in certain types of “brain training” games were up to 25% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s or dementia over 20 years.
Participants were able to reap these benefits with just 14 to 23 hours of training over a three-year period. One specific type of brain training, called “speed training,” had the most significant, positive impact on memory, the study’s authors found.
The 20-year follow-up expanded on previous findings from an Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) trial, which showed in 2016 that the training could lower the risk of dementia after 10 years.
The benefits persisting for double that time period, however, surprised even study author Michael Marsiske, professor and interim co-chair of the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions.
“Participants who had the greatest advantage had a maximum of 18 training sessions over three years. It seemed implausible that we might still see benefits two decades later,” Marsiske said in a University of Florida Health press release. “Our initial findings had shown benefits of several training arms up to 10 years after training … Adding in these 20-year findings strongly suggests that engagement in cognitive training does no harm and may confer substantial benefit.”
Brain training shows continued memory benefits 20 years later
The newly-released research was a long-term follow-up to a 2,832-person, randomized controlled trial funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). All of the nearly 3,000 participants were 65 or older and cognitively healthy at the time of enrollment.
Participants in the experimental group partook in one of three kinds of brain training − speed, memory or reasoning − twice per week for 60 to 75 minutes per session over five weeks. About half of the people in each training group were additionally assigned to “booster” training, or four additional sessions to be completed at the end of the first year and in the third year after the initial treatment, totaling 23 hours over three years.
Researchers then used Medicare data to track who in the experimental and control (no treatment) groups were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s or dementia 20 years after the initial trial.
Participants who did speed and “booster” training were 25% less likely than the control group to be diagnosed with one of the conditions, they found, whereas those who did not participate in the additional booster sessions did not receive any significant protection.
Those who did memory and reasoning training were also no less likely than the control group to receive an Alzheimer’s or dementia diagnosis.
Training can help at any age, say researchers
The speed training required participants to look at images on a computer screen and make quick decisions, according to the UFHealth press release. As participants’ speed and accuracy improved, the training got progressively more difficult.
“Speed training may cause physical changes to the brain, leading to new and stronger connections between brain networks,” the release said. The study’s authors also noted that the training appeared to offer benefits regardless of the age at which it started.
“At enrollment, our participants ranged in age from 65 to 94 years,” Marsiske said. “We found no substantial reduction of training benefit with age, suggesting that training can be started at any time.”
More research is needed to understand the full impact of brain training on memory and aging, noted the study. And, while the results are impressive, limitations such as participants dropping out or incomplete healthcare data need to be considered when looking at the results, experts like Dr. Ron Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, told AARP.
“These things might be beneficial, but I wouldn’t go to the bank with this,” he told the publication.
Even so, the long-term findings could have positive implications for the future of memory care.
“We think this study encourages us, and the field, to continue incorporating cognitive training into multicomponent intervention programs for older adults,” Marsiske said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Brain training’ may combat Alzheimer’s, dementia for decades
