Through cognitive plasticity and reserve ( Stern, 2002), mentally stimulating activities like memory training help maintain and improve cognitive and functional abilities in daily life ( Hertzog et al., 2008). Memory training programs exist within the larger context of cognitive training, which is based on the notion that cognition is plastic in older age ( Acevedo & Lowenstein, 2007 Rebok, Carlson, & Langbaum, 2007). Training programs designed to enhance memory among older adults have proliferated in recent years. These findings can inform the design of future memory training programs for older adults. Treatment gains among memory-trained individuals were not better after training in any particular strategy, or by the average age of participants, session length, or type of control condition. Among 10 distinct memory strategies identified in studies, meta-analytic methods revealed that training multiple strategies was associated with larger training gains (p=0.04), although this association did not reach statistical significance after adjusting for multiple comparisons. The pre-post training effect for memory-trained interventions was 0.43 SD (95% CI: 0.29, 0.57) and the practice effect for control groups was 0.06 SD (95% CI: -0.05, 0.16). The overall effect size estimate, representing the mean standardized difference in pre-post change between memory-trained and control groups, was 0.31 standard deviations (SD 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.22, 0.39).
The review identified 402 publications, of which 35 studies met criteria for inclusion. A systematic review and meta-analysis of memory training research was conducted to characterize the effect of memory strategies on memory performance among cognitively intact, community-dwelling older adults, and to identify characteristics of individuals and of programs associated with improved memory.
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