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Working Memory Training for Older Participants: A Control Group Training Regimen and Initial Intellectual Functioning Assessment
Published on: September 20, 2020
Working memory performance of older adults with insomnia
Nicole Lovato1, Leon Lack, Helen Wright
1School of Psychology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia. nicole.lovato@flinders.edu.au
Journal of Sleep Research
|November 23, 2012
Summary
Older adults with insomnia do not show impaired working memory performance on demanding cognitive tasks compared to good sleepers. This study suggests objective cognitive function remains intact despite subjective complaints of cognitive decline in insomnia patients.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Gerontology
- Sleep Medicine
Background:
- Insomnia in older adults is often linked to perceived cognitive decline.
- Neuroimaging suggests frontal lobe hypo-activation in insomniacs.
- Objective cognitive deficits in insomniacs require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate objective working memory performance in older adults with insomnia.
- To compare cognitive task performance between older insomniacs and age-matched good sleepers.
Main Methods:
- Forty-nine older adults with sleep maintenance insomnia and 49 age-matched good sleepers participated.
- Cognitive performance was assessed using the Double Span Memory Task.
- General intelligence was controlled for in the analysis.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in working memory performance were found between insomniacs and good sleepers.
- Performance on simpler and more demanding task components did not differ.
- Older adults with insomnia did not exhibit observable working memory impairment.
Conclusions:
- This study found no objective impairment in working memory for older adults with insomnia.
- Findings contribute to the understanding of cognitive function in insomniac populations.
- Objective cognitive performance may be preserved in insomniacs on short-term demanding tasks.
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