title: The memory fitness program:  cognitive effects of a healthy aging intervention.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Age-related memory decline affects a large proportion of older adults. Cognitive training, physical exercise, and other lifestyle habits may help to minimize self-perception of memory loss and a decline in objective memory performance.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine whether a 6-week educational program on memory training, physical activity, stress reduction, and healthy diet led to improved memory performance in older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of 115 participants (mean age: 80.9 [SD: 6.0 years]) was recruited from two continuing care retirement communities. The intervention consisted of 60-minute classes held twice weekly with 15-20 participants per class. Testing of both objective and subjective cognitive performance occurred at baseline, preintervention, and postintervention. Objective cognitive measures evaluated changes in five domains: immediate verbal memory, delayed verbal memory, retention of verbal information, memory recognition, and verbal fluency. A standardized metamemory instrument assessed four domains of memory self-awareness: frequency and severity of forgetting, retrospective functioning, and mnemonics use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The intervention program resulted in significant improvements on objective measures of memory, including recognition of word pairs (t([114]) = 3.62, p <0.001) and retention of verbal information from list learning (t([114]) = 2.98, p <0.01). No improvement was found for verbal fluency. Regarding subjective memory measures, the retrospective functioning score increased significantly following the intervention (t([114]) = 4.54, p <0.0001), indicating perception of a better memory.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings indicate that a 6-week healthy lifestyle program can improve both encoding and recalling of new verbal information, as well as self-perception of memory ability in older adults residing in continuing care retirement communities.
authors.affiliation: Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, Memory and Aging Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. kmiller@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Prabha
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siddarth
authors.forename: Jean M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gaines
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Parrish
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Ercoli
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marx
authors.forename: Judah
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ronch
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pilgram
authors.forename: Kasey
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Barczak
authors.forename: Bridget
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Babcock
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Small
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004032:Diet; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control