MENTAL STATUS AS A PREDICTOR OF RESPONSE TO MEMORY TRAINING IN OLDER ADULTS

Abstract

The present study assessed the association between rated mental status and response to a memory‐training program. A commonly used general measure of cognitive impairment, the Mini‐Mental State Exam (MMSE), was administered to 102 elderly participants enrolled in a 2‐week memory‐training program. The program used two visual‐imagery mnemonics (name‐face recall and list learning by the “method of loci"). The MMSE scores were positively related to improvement in recall performance. Individuals with relatively mild deficits (those scoring below 29) showed less improvement than those scoring 29 and 30. Differences in ability to benefit from training were also noted between the two mnemonic devices, suggesting a more rapid fall off in ability to benefit from training with a more complex mnemonic, the method of loci.