| Popis: |
Considering the steady growth of elderly populations and the great importance of cognitive functions for leading an independent, self-fulfilling life, it is crucial to understand how cognitive functions can be preserved and, if possible, promoted in old age. What are useful interventions for this purpose and how do we go about testing these? While there is no one-size-fits-all approach to intervention studies, we suggest that the development of effective cognitive enhancement programs will strongly depend on methods that explicitly address issues of ecological and population validity. We illustrate this point by discussing our experience with implementing Lifestyle 2030, a large-scale, Internet-based study at Leiden University. The participants of this study were randomly assigned to one of multiple interventions, such as physical exercise, meditation, learning a new language, brain-training games, or an active control condition. We argue that such online approaches, which compare multiple easy-access at-home trainings, are key to finding effective interventions that translate readily to real-world applications. However, important challenges remain for online studies, most notably concerning high drop-out rates and reduced efficacy. Future studies might benefit from an increased focus on social factors to increase training adherence. |
