title: Non-pharmacological intervention strategies on aging processes: Empirical data on mental training in "normal" older people and patients with mental impairment.
abstract: A wide variety of measures and methods are applied to conduct cognitive training. Of these, "Mental Activity Training" (MAT) is used in order to train basic parameters of information-processing directly, i.e., information flow to short-term storage and duration of presence. Here the results of three studies are discussed in which MAT was implemented. They examine the influence on fluid intelligence abilities and everyday activities of elderly people without cognitive impairment. Furthermore, the first results of investigations on patients with severe dementia are discussed. An overview of recent publications on the topics shows that cognitive training is an appropriate mean of combatting cognitive aging as well as of providing a method of treatment for illness-related reduced mental performance.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cräsel