Long-term effects of mnemonic training in community-dwelling older adults

Abstract The purpose of our study was to investigate the long-term effect of mnemonic training on memory performance in older adults. Five years after participation in a mnemonic training study, we followed-up 112 community-dwelling older adults, 60 years of age and over. Delayed recall of a word li...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psychiatric research 2007-10, Vol.41 (7), p.585-590
Main Authors: O’Hara, Ruth, Brooks, John O, Friedman, Leah, Schröder, Carmen M, Morgan, Kevin S, Kraemer, Helena C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Aging - psychology
Association Learning
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition
Face
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Imagination
Male
Medical sciences
Memory
Memory functioning
Memory training
Memory, Short-Term
Mental Recall
Mnemonics
Older adults
Older people
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Practice (Psychology)
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Reference Values
Verbal Learning
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Summary:Abstract The purpose of our study was to investigate the long-term effect of mnemonic training on memory performance in older adults. Five years after participation in a mnemonic training study, we followed-up 112 community-dwelling older adults, 60 years of age and over. Delayed recall of a word list was assessed prior to, and immediately following mnemonic training, and at the 5-year follow-up. Overall, there was no significant difference between word recall prior to training and that exhibited at follow-up. However, pre-training performance, gain scores in performance immediately post-training and use of the mnemonic predicted performance at follow-up. Individuals who self-reported using the mnemonic exhibited the highest performance overall, with scores significantly higher than at pre-training. Our findings suggest that mnemonic training has long-term benefits for some older adults, particularly those who continue to employ the mnemonic.
ISSN:0022-3956
1879-1379
DOI:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2006.04.010