Particle.news
Download on the App Store
26 ARTICLES
·
2h ago

Speed-of-Processing Training Tied to 25% Lower Dementia Diagnoses in 20-Year Trial

A 20-year randomized follow-up ties only adaptive speed training with boosters to fewer Medicare-recorded dementia diagnoses.

As the game gets harder, more and more distracting images are added to the screen.
Image

Overview

  • ACTIVE, a randomized trial enrolling about 2,800 adults aged 65+ in the late 1990s, tested speed, memory, and reasoning training against a control group.
  • Participants completed ten 60–75 minute sessions over five weeks, with randomly assigned booster sessions at roughly one and three years for a total of under 24 hours.
  • Only those who finished the speed-of-processing training and received booster sessions had about a 25% lower risk of Alzheimer’s or related dementia diagnosis versus controls.
  • Memory and reasoning training showed no significant effect, and speed training without boosters did not reduce risk.
  • Dementia outcomes came from 20-year Medicare claims, and outside experts flagged limitations and urged replication; the speed task is commercialized as BrainHQ’s Double Decision with disclosed researcher ties and uncertain mechanisms.