Improving Everyday Functioning in the Old-Old with Working Memory Training.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess gains related to working memory (WM) training, in the short and long term (9 months after the training), in abilities required in everyday life, and in cognitive measures in old-old adults (aged ≥ 75 years). METHODS: Thirty-two community-dwelling older adults (aged 75-85 years) were randomly assigned to a training or an active control group. In addition to testing for any specific gains in a WM task similar to the one used in the training (criterion task), we sought transfer effects to: 1) abilities involved in everyday life using objective performance-based tasks (the Everyday Problem Test [EPT] and the Timed Instrumental Activities of Daily Living [TIADL] scale; 2) tasks demanding the comprehension and recall of spatial information and pairing names with faces; and 3) a measure of inhibitory control, that is, recall errors (intrusion errors). RESULTS: Only the trained group showed specific gains in the criterion task, and in the TIADL in the short term. At follow-up, the trained group maintained gains in the criterion task, and showed transfer effects to everyday problem-solving (in the EPT), and in constructing spatial representations of an environment. The trained group also improved in a cognitive inhibition measure (intrusion errors) at follow-up. No such improvements were seen in the active control group. CONCLUSION: WM training may be a valid way to help old-old adults preserve at least some abilities related to everyday functioning.

e-Health Interventions Targeting Pain-Related Psychological Variables in Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review.

There is growing evidence to support the potential benefit of e-Health interventions targeting psychosocial outcomes and/or pain-related psychological variables for chronic pain conditions, including fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). This systematic review aims at providing an in-depth description of the available e-Health psychological and/or multicomponent interventions for patients with FMS. Searches were made in PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, and PsycINFO up to 15 May 2023, finally including twenty-six articles. The quality of the included articles was medium-high (average quality assessment score of 77.1%). 50% of studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n = 13), and the majority of them focused exclusively on adult patients with FMS (n = 23) who were predominantly female. Four categories of e-Health modalities were identified: web-based (n = 19), mobile application (m-Health) (n = 3), virtual reality (VR) (n = 2), and video consulting (n = 2). Interventions were mainly based on the cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approach (n = 14) and mostly involved contact with a healthcare professional through different digital tools. Overall, a growing number of psychological and multicomponent interventions have been created and delivered using digital tools in the context of FMS, showing their potentiality for improving psychosocial outcomes and pain-related psychological variables. However, some digital tools resulted as underrepresented, and the literature on this topic appears highly heterogeneous precluding robust conclusions.