Author Contributions: Each author provided significant intellectual contribution to warrant authorship and declares that he/she has seen and approved this manuscript. Dr. Benjamin M. Hampstead had full access to all the data in the study; he and Dr. K. Sathian had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.
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Mnemonic strategy training partially restores hippocampal activity in patients with mild cognitive impairment†‡
Article first published online: 27 FEB 2012
DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22006
Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Additional Information
How to Cite
Hampstead, B. M., Stringer, A. Y., Stilla, R. F., Giddens, M. and Sathian, K. (2012), Mnemonic strategy training partially restores hippocampal activity in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Hippocampus, 22: 1652–1658. doi: 10.1002/hipo.22006
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The contents of this manuscript do not represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the United States Government.
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Author Contributions: Each author provided significant intellectual contribution to warrant authorship and declares that he/she has seen and approved this manuscript. Dr. Benjamin M. Hampstead had full access to all the data in the study; he and Dr. K. Sathian had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication.
Publication History
- Issue published online: 11 JUL 2012
- Article first published online: 27 FEB 2012
- Manuscript Accepted: 4 JAN 2012
Funded by
- Rehabilitation Research and Development Service. Grant Number: B6366W
- VA Merit. Grant Number: B6662R
- Emory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. Grant Number: NIA: 2P50AG025688
- National Institutes of Health (NIH). Grant Number: K24 EY017332
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- cognitive rehabilitation;
- aging;
- fMRI;
- Alzheimer's disease;
- plasticity
Abstract
Learning and memory deficits typify patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and are generally attributed to medial temporal lobe dysfunction. Although the hippocampus is perhaps the most commonly studied neuroanatomical structure in these patients, there have been few attempts to identify rehabilitative interventions that facilitate its functioning. Here, we present results from a randomized, controlled, single-blind study in which patients with MCI and healthy elderly controls (HEC) were randomized to either three sessions of mnemonic strategy training (MS) or a matched-exposure control group (XP). All participants underwent pre- and posttraining fMRI scanning as they encoded and retrieved object–location associations. For the current report, fMRI analyses were restricted to the hippocampus, as defined anatomically. Before training, MCI patients showed reduced hippocampal activity during both encoding and retrieval, relative to HEC. Following training, the MCI MS group demonstrated increased activity during both encoding and retrieval. There were significant differences between the MCI MS and MCI XP groups during retrieval, especially within the right hippocampus. Thus, MS facilitated hippocampal functioning in a partially restorative manner. We conclude that cognitive rehabilitation techniques may help mitigate hippocampal dysfunction in MCI patients. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.