Music has been debated as a positive factor for the health of elderly people. In a randomized study, the researchers compared an intervention based on percussion and musical improvisation with a choir activity. The objective was to investigate whether improvisation would influence the executive functioning and motor skills of healthy elderly people. A set of instruments for psychological and motor assessment was used before and after the procedure. Differences were found in the performance of the participants of the improvisation group in the Clock Drawing Test suggesting possible gains in executive function. There were gains, regardless of the group, in part A of the Trail Making Test, which indicates a sustained attention. No evidence of motor effects was found in this study. The results suggest that musical activities can contribute to the prevention of cognitive decline caused by aging.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition that is often associated with movement impairments, such as reduced balance and gait control. Virtual reality (VR) is a promising intervention for enhancing rehabilitation efficiency and may assist in overcoming functional limitations imposed by the disability. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of a 5-weeks VR intervention in increasing mobility smoothness in participants with PD. Participants were assessed using functional mobility tasks-Timed Up and Go (TUG) and 10-m walking test (10MWT) and cognitive function tests. A total of 23 participants with a diagnosis of PD were randomly assigned to groups of VR or control interventions. In the VR group, for each session, participants received a VR-based balance training, i.e., tightrope simulator, for 20 min, preceded by 8 min of total body warm-up (total of 10 sessions over 5 weeks). Participants in the control group received 20 min of psychoeducation without a structured exercise program (twice a week). All screened participants engaged and completed a total of 10 VR-based intervention sessions. VR-based balance training caused no significant improvement in mobility smoothness for TUG or 10MWT (p > 0.05). Similarly, cognitive function was not affected by the VR intervention (p > 0.05). The outcomes of this study suggest that 10-20 min of VR-based intervention is a feasible and safe rehabilitation activity. However, it was insufficient to promote improvement in mobility smoothness and cognitive function in participants with PD. A combination of task-specific training in the virtual and physical environments in a more intensive approach is warranted for future study designs.

Objective: To analyze the memory performance of participants aged 60 years and older with and without depressive symptoms. Methods: 199 participants were assessed using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) with a cut-off point of 20 for depression. Of these, 22 met the criteria for depression group; the remaining participants were allocated to the non-depression group. The Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) was used to assess verbal learning, fi gures I and II of the Visual Reproduction subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale Revised (WMS-R) was used to evaluate immediate and delayed visual memory, and the Logical Memory subtests I and II of WMS-R were used to test verbal memory. Results: The average scores for verbal learning in the depression group were signifi cantly lower than those in the non-depression group (p = .001). There were no group differences on visual and logical memory I and II scales. Conclusion: Depressive symptoms affect information retention and verbal learning in the elderly. However, they had no effect on visual and logical memory processing in this sample. The results suggest that, in addition to age-related cognitive decline, depression impairs memory performance considerably.

No abstract