Brain training sessions found to reduce dementia risk in decades-long study

An update on a decades-long investigation has suggested that brain training can lower the risk of dementia.

The Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study, which began in the late 1990s with nearly 3,000 older adults, evaluated how brain training impacts thinking and memory.

The participants, who ranged in age from 65 to 94 at the start of the trial, were randomly placed in groups for 10 training sessions in memory, reasoning, or speed of processing. The 60- to 75-minute sessions were conducted over six weeks.

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Another randomly selected group received "booster" training 11 months and 35 months after the initial session.

A recent follow-up study found that the participants who received cognitive speed training, in addition to follow-up training several years later, were 25% less likely to receive a dementia diagnosis over the next two decades.

This is one of the first results from the trial to demonstrate that "any intervention, whether it is cognitive training, brain games, physical exercise, diet or drugs, can lower the incidence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias," according to principal researchers at the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions.

The findings were published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions.

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Participants who had the "greatest advantage" underwent a maximum of 18 training sessions over three years, according to researcher Michael Marsiske, PhD, a professor and interim co-chair of the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at UF Health.

Marsiske told Fox News Digital that he was "absolutely surprised" by these findings.

"Our initial findings had shown benefits of several training arms up to 10 years after training, with participants reporting less impairment in tasks of daily living and fewer motor vehicle crashes," the researcher said. "These 20-year findings strongly suggest that engagement in cognitive training does no harm and may confer substantial benefit."

Speed training requires the participants to process visual information on a computer screen and "make quick decisions."

"As participants' speed and accuracy improved, the training got progressively more difficult," the UF Health press release stated. "Speed training may cause physical changes to the brain, leading to new and stronger connections between brain networks."

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Participants reported benefits after five years, including less difficulty performing tasks like cooking, taking medication and managing finances. After 10 years, those who were trained in reasoning and speed of processing "maintained cognitive improvement," the researchers shared.

Based on the latest 20-year results, the team plans to launch follow-up trials to explore how older adults can benefit from pairing cognitive training with lifestyle habits like physical activity, diet improvements and blood pressure management.

"I'm most excited about the ability to merge real-world data, like Medicare records, with a clinical trial like ours," Marsiske shared with Fox News Digital.

This study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Nursing Research. Fox News Digital reached out to UF Health for comment.

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Other recent research has attempted to link certain lifestyle changes and exercises to reduced dementia risk. A new study, published in the journal JMIR Serious Games, found that playing certain games on a smartphone can improve attention and memory.

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Dr. Daniel Amen, psychiatrist and founder of Amen Clinics, previously commented on this method of brain training, noting that it’s "critical" to continue learning and to challenge the brain, but that it's important to set boundaries.

"If you can be disciplined, word games, for example, or Sudoku games … can be helpful and have been shown to increase memory," he told Fox News Digital.

"New learning is a very important, critical strategy to decrease aging," Amen went on. "You should be spending 15 minutes a day learning something new that you don’t know … whether it's a language, a musical instrument, a new gardening technique or a new technique in cooking."