Insidious declines in normal aging are well-established. Emerging evidence suggests that non-pharmacological interventions, specifically cognitive and physical training, may counter diminishing age-related cognitive and brain functions. This randomized trial compared effects of two training protocols: cognitive training (CT) vs. physical training (PT) on cognition and brain function in adults 56–75 years. Sedentary participants (N = 36) were randomized to either CT or PT group for 3 h/week over 12 weeks. They were assessed at baseline-, mid-, and post-training using neurocognitive, MRI, and physiological measures. The CT group improved on executive function whereas PT group's memory was enhanced. Uniquely deploying cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral vascular reactivity (CVR) MRI, the CT cohort showed increased CBF within the prefrontal and middle/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) without change to CVR compared to PT group. Improvements in complex abstraction were positively associated with increased resting CBF in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Exercisers with higher CBF in hippocampi bilaterally showed better immediate memory. The preliminary evidence indicates that increased cognitive and physical activity improves brain health in distinct ways. Reasoning training enhanced frontal networks shown to be integral to top-down cognitive control and brain resilience. Evidence of increased resting CBF without changes to CVR implicates increased neural health rather than improved vascular response. Exercise did not improve cerebrovascular response, although CBF increased in hippocampi of those with memory gains. Distinct benefits incentivize testing effectiveness of combined protocols to strengthen brain health.

Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) has been useful in showing compromise after traumatic axonal injury (TAI) at the chronic stage; however, white matter (WM) compromise from acute stage of TAI to chronic stage is not yet well understood. This study aims to examine changes in WM integrity following TAI by obtaining DTI, on average, 1 d post injury and again approximately seven months post-injury. Sixteen patients with complicated mild to severe brain injuries consistent with TAI were recruited in the intensive care unit of a Level I trauma center. Thirteen of these patients were studied longitudinally over the course of the first seven months post-injury. The first scan occurred, on average, 1 d after injury and the second an average of seven months post-injury. Ten healthy individuals, similar to the cohort of patients, were recruited as controls. Whole brain WM and voxel-based analyses of DTI data were conducted. DTI metrics of interest included: fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity, axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD). tract-based spatial statistics were used to examine DTI metrics spatially. Acutely, AD and RD increased and RD positively correlated with injury severity. Longitudinal analysis showed reduction in FA and AD ( p < 0.01), but no change in RD. Possible explanations for the microstructural changes observed over time are discussed.

ObjectiveCognitive training offers a promising way to mitigate cognitive deterioration in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This randomized control pilot trial examined the effects of Gist Reasoning Training on cognition as compared with a training involving New Learning in a well‐characterized MCI group.MethodsFifty participants with amnestic MCI were randomly assigned to the experimental Gist Training group or an active control New Learning group. Both groups received 8 h of training over a 4‐week period. We compared pre‐training with post‐training changes in cognitive functions between the two training groups.ResultsThe Gist Training group showed higher performance in executive function (strategic control and concept abstraction) and memory span compared with the New Learning group. Conversely, the New Learning group showed gains in memory for details.ConclusionThese findings suggest that cognitive training in general yields benefits, and more specifically, training programs that target top–down cognitive functions such as gist reasoning may have a broad impact on improving cognition in MCI. © 2016 The Authors. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Factors that contribute to overcoming decision-making biases in later life pose an important investigational question given the increasing older adult population. Limited empirical evidence exists and the literature remains equivocal of whether increasing age is associated with elevated susceptibility to decision-making biases such as framing effects. Research into the individual differences contributing to decision-making ability may offer better understanding of the influence of age in decision-making ability. Changes in cognition underlying decision-making have been shown with increased age and may contribute to individual variability in decision-making abilities. This study had three aims; (1) to understand the influence of age on susceptibility to decision-making biases as measured by framing effects across a large, continuous age range; (2) to examine influence of cognitive abilities that change with age; and (3) to understand the influence of individual factors such as gender and education on susceptibility to framing effects. 200 individuals (28–79 years of age) were tested on a large battery of cognitive measures in the domains of executive function, memory and complex attention. Findings from this study demonstrated that cognitive abilities such as strategic control and delayed memory better predicted susceptibility to framing biases than age. The current findings demonstrate that age may not be as influential a factor in decision-making as cognitive ability and cognitive reserve. These findings motivate future studies to better characterize cognitive ability to determine decision-making susceptibilities in aging populations.

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