Memory, Processing Speed, and the Effects of Cognitive Exercise on the Aging Brain

• Main Author: Yero, Alexis D
• Format: Others
• Published: FIU Digital Commons 2016
• Subjects: Memory; Processing Speed; Cognitive Exercise; Brain Games; Geriatric; Speech Pathology and Audiology
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/3062; http://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3846&context=etd

The purpose of the current study was to investigate, and expain, the effects of an intervention known as “The Five Task Approach” (TFTA); a cognitive intervention hereby utilized within the realm of the geriatric population, as a means of taxing and strengthening cortical areas associated with memory, and visual processing. This study revealed that even short-term exposure to cognitive activities, and therapeutic cueing known to tax areas connected to visual perception, may have an effect on one’s global cognition, generalized memory, and the accuracy of one’s visual perception. It was demonstrated that even brief cognitive intervention geared at taxing cortical areas associated with memory and visual processing, in conjunction with the therapuetic cueing utilized in this study, has the potential to significantly increase participant performance in terms of global cognitive function, including skills associated with executive functioning, working memory, visual processing, visual processing speed, auditory processing, and global cognitive status.