Structural brain changes in people with dementia receiving Cognitive Stimulation Therapy: Preliminary findings

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Gerontology

Background:

• Dementia affects millions globally, impacting brain structure and cognition.
• Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is a proven non-pharmacological intervention for dementia.
• Limited data exists on CST's effects on brain structural changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of CST on brain cortical structure.
• To analyze changes in surface area, thickness, and volume using MRI.
• To compare structural changes between CST and treatment as usual (TAU) groups.

Main Methods:

• Structural MRI scans of 17 CST participants and 11 TAU controls were analyzed pre- and post-intervention.
• Symmetrized Percentage Change (SPC) of cortical structure was calculated.
• Statistical analysis involved Freesurfer's GLM with corrections for multiple comparisons (FWE, Bonferroni).

Main Results:

• The CST group showed decreased left rostral middle frontal surface area (p=0.019).
• Increased thickness was observed in the right supramarginal (p=0.012) and postcentral (p=0.038) regions in the CST group.
• Cognition correlated significantly with right supramarginal gyrus thickness (p=0.017).

Conclusions:

• This is the first study demonstrating CST's effects on brain cortical structure.
• Observed changes suggest CST may influence mood, stress, and cognitive processing.
• Larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these preliminary findings.