Effects of multifactorial memory training in old age: generalizability across tasks and individuals

This study examined the generalizability of gains following multifactorial memory training in healthy older adults across tasks and individuals; 46 subjects were randomly assigned to either a control group or to a multifactorial training group (encoding operations, attentional functions, relaxation). The criterion task was recall of concrete words, and there were three transfer tasks: recall of objects, recall of subject-performed tasks, and recall of abstract words. Results indicated that multifactorial training gave rise to performance gains in the criterion task that were sustained after 6 months. Transfer of gains and maintenance of transfer were observed for object recall only, indicating a restricted range of generalizability. Pretraining scores alone predicted posttraining scores, whereas age, education, and level of global cognitive functioning (Mini-Mental State Examination) did not contribute reliably to the magnitude of training-related gains.