title: Adaptive working memory strategy training in early Alzheimer's disease: randomised controlled trial.
abstract: Interventions that improve cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease are urgently required.
  
  
  
  To assess whether a novel cognitive training paradigm based on 'chunking' improves working memory and general cognitive function, and is associated with reorganisation of functional activity in prefrontal and parietal cortices (trial registration: ISRCTN43007027).
  
  
  
  Thirty patients with mild Alzheimer's disease were randomly allocated to receive 18 sessions of 30 min of either adaptive chunking training or an active control intervention over approximately 8 weeks. Pre- and post-intervention functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were also conducted.
  
  
  
  Adaptive chunking training led to significant improvements in verbal working memory and untrained clinical measures of general cognitive function. Further, fMRI revealed a bilateral reduction in task-related lateral prefrontal and parietal cortex activation in the training group compared with controls.
  
  
  
  Chunking-based cognitive training is a simple and potentially scalable intervention to improve cognitive function in early Alzheimer's disease.
authors.affiliation: J. D. Huntley, PhD, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; A. Hampshire, PhD, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK; D. Bor, PhD, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton; A. Owen, PhD, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; R. J. Howard, MD, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK jonathan.huntley@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Huntley
authors.affiliation: J. D. Huntley, PhD, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; A. Hampshire, PhD, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK; D. Bor, PhD, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton; A. Owen, PhD, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; R. J. Howard, MD, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hampshire
authors.affiliation: J. D. Huntley, PhD, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; A. Hampshire, PhD, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK; D. Bor, PhD, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton; A. Owen, PhD, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; R. J. Howard, MD, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bor
authors.affiliation: J. D. Huntley, PhD, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; A. Hampshire, PhD, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK; D. Bor, PhD, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton; A. Owen, PhD, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; R. J. Howard, MD, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Owen
authors.affiliation: J. D. Huntley, PhD, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; A. Hampshire, PhD, Division of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK; D. Bor, PhD, Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science, University of Sussex, Brighton; A. Owen, PhD, Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; R. J. Howard, MD, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Howard
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000072466:Cognitive Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014163:Transfer, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*