[Dynamics of cognitive functions using the rehabilitation program of cognitive training]

To study the efficiency of the neuropsychological rehabilitation of patients with mild cognitive impairments.

The study included 103 elderly people, aged 59 to 88 years, including 90 women and 13 men with subjective complaints of memory loss (ICD-10: F06.70; F06.71; F06.78; F06.79). Participants were divided into experimental group (n=43) and comparison group (n=42). The estimated impact was the rehabilitation program «The psychosocial therapy and neurocognitive rehabilitation of elderly patients with cognitive impairments», within which the principle of complex stimulation of various parameters of the cognitive sphere was used in rehabilitation work with patients in the experimental group in accordance with the «Memory Clinic» program. The study was conducted using randomized, equalized comparison groups, and the principle of «triple-blind» research. Non-parametric statistics (SPSS) methods were used to assess differences.

A significant difference between the comparison and experimental groups has been identified, primarily in relation to high-level mental processes associated with the function of the third structural-functional block according to A.R. Luria. After the training, the number of correct answers significantly increased (t(42)=-2.67, p<0.001) in the experimental group, while in the comparison group the indicator did not change (t(41)=0.50, p=0.617). The number of false alarms in the experimental group decreased significantly (t(42)=2.13, p=0.039).

The results confirm the leading role of these processes in the hierarchy of mental functions, which suggests that they should primarily be targets of rehabilitation interventions.