Xin yixue (Apr 2023)
Effect of brain exercise training on cognitive function and behavioral and psychological symptoms of patients with mild cognitive impairment
Abstract
Objective To observe the effect of brain exercise training on cognitive function and behavioral and psychological symptoms of patients with mild cognitive impairment （MCI）. Methods 80 patients with MCI were randomly divided into the intervention （n = 40） and control groups （n = 40）. In the intervention group， brain exercise training was delivered for 45-60 min twice a week for 12 consecutive weeks. Mini-Mental State Examination Scale （MMSE）， Montreal Cognitive Assessment （MoCA）， Zung’s Self-rating Anxiety Scale （SAS）， Zung’s Self-rating Depression Scale （SDS）， Neuropsychiatric Inventory （NPI） and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index （PSQI） between two groups were evaluated at the baseline， 3 months and 6 months， respectively. Results In the control group， the total MMSE scores at 3 and 6 months were significantly declined compared with the baseline value （P < 0.001， P = 0.007）， the scores of attention and calculation domains were significantly decreased （P < 0.001， P = 0.009）， and the score of language domain was also significantly declined at 6-month follow-up （P = 0.012）. No significant differences were observed regarding the total and each domain scores of MMSE at different time points in the intervention group （all P > 0.05）. In the control group， the total MoCA scores at 3- and 6-month follow-up were significantly lower than the baseline value （P = 0.011， P < 0.001）， and the scores of attention and calculation domains were considerably declined （P = 0.002， P = 0.048）. In the intervention group， the total MoCA score at 6 months was significantly higher than the baseline value （P = 0.001）， and the scores of attention and calculation domains at 3- and 6-month follow-up were considerably higher compared with the baseline values （both P < 0.001）， which significantly differed between two groups （both P < 0.001）. In the control group， the SAS scores at 3- and 6-month follow-up were significantly higher than the baseline values （P = 0.001， P = 0.003）， the SDS scores at 3- and 6-month follow-up were also significantly higher compared with the baseline values （P = 0.002， P = 0.007）. In the intervention group， the SDS score at 6 months was significantly lower than the baseline score （P = 0.009）. The SAS and SDS scores at 6-month follow-up significantly differed between two groups （P = 0.002， P = 0.016）. No significant changes were observed in the NPI and PSQI scores between two groups. Conclusion Brain exercise training can improve the cognitive function and stabilize the mood of MCI patients to a certain extent， which might play a positive role in preventing or delaying the progression of MCI into dementia.
Keywords
