Overview
- In the NIH-funded ACTIVE randomized trial, older adults who completed speed-of-processing training plus booster sessions had a 25% lower incidence of dementia over two decades compared with controls.
- The effect was limited to the speed training with boosters; the memory and reasoning arms, and speed training without boosters, did not show statistically significant risk reductions.
- Researchers assessed outcomes using Medicare claims for 2,021 of the 2,802 participants enrolled in 1998–99, finding 40% dementia incidence in the boosted speed group versus 49% in controls.
- Training involved two 60–75 minute sessions per week for five weeks, with four 1-hour booster sessions about one year later and four more around year three.
- The speed task, Double Decision, is now offered via BrainHQ from Posit Science, and a study author disclosed a consulting and stock relationship with the company as hypotheses about mechanisms remain unproven and experts call for replication.