Functional anatomy of cognitive training using chunking in working memory in Alzheimers disease
Lead Research Organisation:
King's College London
Department Name: Medicine School Office
Abstract
Alzheimer‘s disease is a devastating illness characterised by memory impairment. ?Working memory?, the ability to remember information over short periods of time, is affected early in the disease. I am investigating strategies to improve working memory, such as chunking. Chunking refers to the ability to group information together into chunks to improve memory capacity.
In a pilot study I examined patients with early Alzheimer‘s disease and found that individuals at the very early stage of the disease can use chunking strategies to improve their working memory. I therefore intend to teach patients with early Alzheimer‘s disease chunking strategies. I will assess whether this significantly improves their working memory and will use brain imaging to investigate underlying changes in brain activity associated with training in chunking.
Using cognitive training in chunking could prove an important therapeutic approach to preserving memory in individuals suffering from Alzheimer‘s disease.
In a pilot study I examined patients with early Alzheimer‘s disease and found that individuals at the very early stage of the disease can use chunking strategies to improve their working memory. I therefore intend to teach patients with early Alzheimer‘s disease chunking strategies. I will assess whether this significantly improves their working memory and will use brain imaging to investigate underlying changes in brain activity associated with training in chunking.
Using cognitive training in chunking could prove an important therapeutic approach to preserving memory in individuals suffering from Alzheimer‘s disease.
Technical Summary
BACKGROUND: Working memory (WM) - the ability to hold and use information over short periods of time, is affected early in Alzheimer?s disease (AD). Novel tasks have been developed by my collaborators at the MRC-CBU to investigate strategies that improve WM, such as chunking. Chunking refers to the ability to group information into ?chunks? to improve memory capacity, and involves prefrontal and parietal cortices. In a pilot study I tested 30 patients with early AD on WM tasks requiring chunking. Pilot data demonstrates that individuals with minimal AD used and could learn chunking strategies to improve their WM capacity.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This trial uses a novel cognitive training regime based on chunking, a powerful mnemonic strategy, in subjects with early AD. It utilises functional neuroimaging to examine re-organisation of brain activity following cognitive training. The study aims to test the following hypotheses:
1) Training individuals with early AD in the use of chunking strategies will improve their WM capacity.
2) Following training in chunking, improvement in WM capacity will generalise across different modalities of WM tasks and a measure of general cognitive functioning: fluid intelligence.
3) Improvement in WM capacity following cognitive training will be associated with re-organisation of functional activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC).
METHODOLOGY: 30 patients with early AD will be assessed on fluid intelligence and WM tasks, and will perform a verbal WM chunking task whilst undergoing fMRI. They will then be randomised to either a control group or cognitive training group, whereby chunking techniques will be taught and practised for a period of 6 weeks. All subjects will then be reassessed using the same measures of fluid intelligence, WM and fMRI protocol, allowing the above hypotheses to be tested.
MEDICAL OPPORTUNITIES: The use of cognitive training in chunking is a novel and important therapeutic approach to preserving memory and quality of life for individuals suffering from AD.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This trial uses a novel cognitive training regime based on chunking, a powerful mnemonic strategy, in subjects with early AD. It utilises functional neuroimaging to examine re-organisation of brain activity following cognitive training. The study aims to test the following hypotheses:
1) Training individuals with early AD in the use of chunking strategies will improve their WM capacity.
2) Following training in chunking, improvement in WM capacity will generalise across different modalities of WM tasks and a measure of general cognitive functioning: fluid intelligence.
3) Improvement in WM capacity following cognitive training will be associated with re-organisation of functional activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC).
METHODOLOGY: 30 patients with early AD will be assessed on fluid intelligence and WM tasks, and will perform a verbal WM chunking task whilst undergoing fMRI. They will then be randomised to either a control group or cognitive training group, whereby chunking techniques will be taught and practised for a period of 6 weeks. All subjects will then be reassessed using the same measures of fluid intelligence, WM and fMRI protocol, allowing the above hypotheses to be tested.
MEDICAL OPPORTUNITIES: The use of cognitive training in chunking is a novel and important therapeutic approach to preserving memory and quality of life for individuals suffering from AD.