Predicting short- and long-term cognitive training success in healthy older adults: who benefits?

Identifying factors predicting effects of cognitive trainings (CT) is important for developing trainings for individuals with specific profiles. The objective of the present study was to evaluate predictors of CT success in several cognitive domains directly after and 1 year after a 7-week group CT in healthy older adults. Sociodemographic variables, baseline cognitive performance, physical activity parameters, apolipoprotein E-4 (apoE-4), levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were analysed as possible predictors of CT success. Outcomes were assessed directly after training  and 1 year after CT. Results indicate that lower initial baseline performance was a significant predictor for CT success in most of the investigated domains. All tested predictors (except age and BDNF) predicted CT success in different domains. Our data indicate that healthy older adults with lower cognitive baseline scores show stronger benefits of a CT group intervention.