A research study which ran from 1998 to 2004 studied approximately 2000 people of Medicare Age. Results of their study indicated that three cognitive domains improved with training: Memory, Speed of Processing, and Reasoning.
Dysfunction in the activities required of daily living, such as writing checks, shopping, reading medication labels correctly, etc. often result in hospitalization, nursing homes or need for home health care; therefore, maintaining a functional status has quality of life as well as cost implications. Therefore, this study also examined the relationship between improvement in cognitive ability with functional status. It was disheartening to note that these results did not translate into maintenance or improvement in activities of daily living; however, that was probably due to the healthy functional status of the participants, and short study period.
This study also has implications for the decline in cognitive thinking associated with Alzheimers, which in the earliest stages, consists of solely symptoms related to cognitive impariment
For more information on the implications of this study see the following article:
Functional Outcomes in Older Adults" JAMA 2006; 296: 2806-2814
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