Overview
This study builds upon previous findings associating neurological gains with tactical brain strategies. Researchers utilized a group of 37 cognitively healthy adults, randomly assigning participants to either a cognitive training group or a control group (no training). The cognitive training group participated in 12 weeks of strategy-based gist-reasoning training, targeting cognitive control of complex information, specifically the ability to extract the "gist" of information encountered in everyday life (e.g., medical, financial, educational or recreational information). In addition, training supported strategies for developing innovative interpretations and approaches to problem solving. Participants were tested pre-training, at midpoint and post-training. Findings suggest the cognitive training group experienced increased brain blood flow in regions integral to reasoning and executive thought, strengthening their ability to abstract broad ideas from detailed information. This outcome supports the potential of strategy-based cognitive training to build cognitive reserve and even reverse negative consequences associated with age-related brain changes.
Figure 2. (A) shows the average change in brain blood flow for the cognitive training group in areas involved in the default mode network (DMN) and central executive network (CEN). (B) Shows the average change (left) and the mean change in absolute brain blood flow (right) for both the DMN and CEN for the cognitive training condition relative to the control group.
