Researchers from University of California found that older adults who regularly used a brain fitness program played on a computer demonstrated significantly improved memory and language skills.
The team studied 59 participants with an average age of 84, recruited from local retirement communities in Southern California.
The volunteers were split into two groups: the first group used a brain fitness program for an average of 73.5 sessions across a six-month period while a second group played it less than 45 times during the same period. Each session lasted for 20 minutes.
The findings showed that the first group demonstrated significantly higher improvement in memory and language skills, compared to the second group.
Researchers believe that such brain fitness tools may help improve language and memory and may ultimately help protect individuals from the cognitive decline associated with ageing and Alzheimer's disease.
This is one of the first studies to assess the cognitive effects of a computerised memory training program.
Age-related memory decline affects approximately 40 per cent of older adults and is characterised by self-perception of memory loss and decline in memory performance.
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