Alessandra Cantarella

Benefits of training visuospatial working memory in young-old and old-old.

The purpose of the present study was to test the efficacy of a visuospatial working memory (WM) training in terms of its transfer effects and maintenance effects, in the young-old and old-old. Forty young-old and 40 old-old adults took part in the study. Twenty participants in each age group received training with a visuospatial WM task, whereas the others served as active controls and completed alternative activities. Training benefits were examined, considering (a) the specific training-related gains in a visuospatial WM task (criterion); and (b) the transfer effects on measures of verbal WM, visuospatial short-term memory, inhibition, processing speed, and reasoning. Maintenance of training benefits was also assessed after 8 months. Results showed that the trained groups (both young-old and old-old), but not the control groups, performed better in the WM measures and preserved these gains after 8 months. Some transfer effects were found, but only in the young-old-trained participants, and they were not maintained at the follow-up. These results are discussed in terms of the efficacy of WM training for older adults when a visuospatial modality is used.

Benefits in tasks related to everyday life competences after a working memory training in older adults

The impact of working memory (WM) training on everyday life functioning has rarely been examined, and it is not clear whether WM training gains are transferred to reasoning abilities. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a verbal WM training in older adults, in terms of specific gains and transfer effects to everyday life and reasoning abilities.

Performance-based everyday functional competence measures across the adult lifespan: the role of cognitive abilities

BACKGROUND The effects of age on the ability to manage everyday functioning, crucial to ensure a healthy aging process, have been rarely examined and when, self-report measures have been used. The aim of the present study was to examine age effects across the adult lifespan in everyday functioning with two performance-based measures: the Everyday Problems Test (EPT), and the Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (TIADL) tasks. The role of some crucial cognitive abilities, i.e. working memory (WM), processing speed, reasoning, vocabulary, and text comprehension in the EPT and the TIADL were also assessed to see whether or not they have a similar influence (and to what extent) in accounting for age-related effects in these two performance-based measures. METHOD Two hundred and seventy-six healthy participants, from 40 to 89 years of age were presented with the EPT, the TIADL, as well as WM, processing speed, reasoning, text comprehension, and vocabulary tasks. RESULTS Path models indicated an indirect effect of age and education on the EPT, which was mediated by all the cognitive variables considered, with WM and reasoning being the strongest predictors of performance. An indirect quadratic effect of age, but not of education, was found on the TIADL score, and an accelerated decline in processing speed mediated the relationship between age and the TIADL score. CONCLUSION This study revealed age-related effects in performance-based measures, which are mediated by different cognitive abilities depending on the measure considered. The findings highlight the importance of assessing everyday functioning even in healthy older adults.

Using dolls for therapeutic purposes: A study on nursing home residents with severe dementia

Among the psychosocial interventions intended to reduce the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), doll therapy (DT) is increasingly used in clinical practice. Few studies on DT have been based on empirical data obtained with an adequate procedure; however, none have assessed its efficacy using an active control group, and the scales used to assess changes in BPSD are usually unreliable. The aim of the present study was to measure the impact of DT on people with severe dementia with a reliable, commonly used scale for assessing their BPSD, and the related distress in formal caregivers. Effects of DT on the formers everyday abilities (ie, eating behavior) were also examined.

Interventi di potenziamento del ben-essere psicologico nell’invecchiamento

In letteratura crescenti evidenze mostrano come sia possibile potenziare il Benessere psicologico attraverso interventi che, nati in seno alla Psicologia Positiva, vadano a focalizzarsi su aspetti ad esso associati quali la soddisfazione di vita, il flourishing, la resilienza e l’autoefficacia. Alcune evidenze riportano inoltre che i) l’efficacia di tali interventi sia relata all’eta, suggerendo quindi che essi possano costituire un approccio di intervento preferenziale nell’invecchiamento; ii) pur non essendo focalizzati sul disagio, possano essere efficaci anche nel caso di individui con elevati livelli di ansia o tono dell’umore deflesso, favorendo l’affettivita positiva e lo sviluppo di adeguate competenze emotive e di coping. Gli obiettivi del seguente lavoro sono: 1) verificare l’efficacia del training Lab.I Empowerment Emotivo-Motivazionale, rivolto ad individui anziani, confrontando un gruppo sperimentale, sottoposto all’intervento di potenziamento, con un gruppo di controllo attivo (studio 1). 2) Verificare l’efficacia dell’intervento in individui che si differenziano, prima dello stesso, per livello di Benessere Psicologico esperito (bassi e alti livelli alla baseline; studio 2). Infine vengono valutati gli effetti di generalizzazione dell’intervento ad una prova di Memoria di Lavoro. I risultati del primo studio mostrano, per effetto del training LAB.I, un aumento significativo nel livello di Benessere complessivo e specifico di alcune sue componenti cosi come una generalizzazione dei benefici sia alla Qualita di vita, misurata con il WHOQOL che ad un compito di Memoria di Lavoro. Nel secondo studio si evidenzia come a beneficiare dell’intervento e della sua generalizzazione ad una prova di Memoria di Lavoro siano soprattutto gli individui con basso livello di Benessere percepito alla baseline.