Cognitive Stimulation Program Presented Through New Technologies in a Group of People with Moderate Cognitive Impairment.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive stimulation is one of the non-pharmacological therapies recommended for intervention in dementia, consisting of activities involving different cognitive domains and involving brain activation. New technologies can be very useful in this field, favoring intervention tasks. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work is to test the effectiveness of a cognitive stimulation intervention mediated with new technologies on a group of people with moderate dementia. METHODS: This is a quantitative, quasi-experimental study with a control and treatment group, with three measurement times (pre, post, and follow-up months after the end of the intervention). Ninety-eight subjects with moderate dementia were randomly assigned to the treatment group (N = 50) and the control group (N = 48). The treatment group received 16 intervention sessions including attention, executive function, and memory tasks, which were presented using new technologies and the activity was conducted in a group setting. Control group remained on a waiting list. The evaluators did not know which group each subject belonged to. All participants were assessed with a battery of neuropsychological tests. RESULTS: The results show an improvement in post-intervention outcomes in the treatment group compared to the control group on cognitive variables. No differences were found in mood depression. These results fade overtime after a few months without intervention. CONCLUSION: This type of intervention is useful to maintain cognitive functioning using new technologies and in a group setting, which favors the intervention. The improvements of the intervention disappear at follow-up, which would indicate the need to maintain the intervention over time.

Cognitive Stimulation in Moderate Alzheimer's Disease.

Cognitive stimulation is one of the non-pharmacological therapies recommended for dementia intervention. The present study evaluated the efficacy of an intervention based on cognitive stimulation in people with moderate Alzheimer's disease. Fifty-nine subjects with moderate dementia were randomly assigned to the stimulation group (N = 36) and the control group (N = 35). The treatment group received 16 intervention sessions cognitive tasks. All participants were evaluated with a battery of neuropsychological tests at three time points (pre, post, and follow-up). The treatment group showed significant increases in the three domains studied (memory, attention, and executive functions), although some of these effects were not maintained at follow-up. The control group progressively worsened. Cognitive stimulation was found to be an effective intervention for people with moderate Alzheimer's disease because it helped to maintain memory function, executive functions, and attention. However, the effects were minimized at the 3-month follow-up.

Neurorrehabilitación cognitiva: fundamentos y aplicaciones de la musicoterapia neurológica / Cognitive neurorehabilitation: the foundations and applications of neurologic music therapy

Introducción. El conocimiento de la plasticidad cerebral y los numerosos estudios con neuroimágenes de los últimos años han permitido un avance en la comprensión del proceso cerebral de los estímulos musicales. Ello ha propiciado el interés para analizar y estudiar su aplicación en el tratamiento no invasivo de determinadas disfunciones o enfermedades con el fin de contribuir a una mejora de la calidad de vida. Objetivo. Exponer los fundamentos y aplicaciones de las técnicas musicales que se utilizan para la neurorrehabilitación cognitiva. Desarrollo. A partir de un resumen inicial del proceso cerebral de los estímulos musicales, se exponen los fundamentos de diversas técnicas, tal como define la musicoterapia neurológica, que se utilizan de forma eficaz en la neurorrehabilitación cognitiva. Los sonidos, que constituyen la materia prima de la música, mantienen una temporalidad y una secuenciación que son útiles para ayudar a la formación de patrones temporales de las funciones cognitivas y conforman un ensamblaje o armazón que facilita el aprendizaje de los procesos secuenciales de información, como por ejemplo, la memoria. Conclusiones. Las técnicas usadas por la musicoterapia neurológica, que en los últimos años se aplican en la neurorrehabilitación cognitiva, no son invasivas y aportan resultados esperanzadores; con una mayor investigación, deberían considerarse para su implantación junto a las terapias convencionales de estimulación y neurorrehabilitación cognitiva

Introduction. Music is the result of a perception in the brain involving a number of cortical and subcortical areas in both brain hemispheres. Increased knowledge about brain plasticity and the numerous neuroimaging studies conducted in recent years have made it possible to further our understanding of the processing of musical stimuli in the brain. This has led to an interest in analysing and studying its application in the non-invasive treatment of certain dysfunctions or diseases with the aim of helping to achieve an improved quality of life. Aim. To outline the foundations and applications of the musical techniques that are used in cognitive neurorehabilitation. Development. Following an initial summary of the processing of musical stimuli in the brain, the study goes on to explain the foundations of different techniques, as defined by neurologic music therapy, that are used efficaciously in cognitive neurorehabilitation. Sounds, which are the raw material of music, maintain a temporality and a sequencing that are a useful aid in the formation of temporal patterns of the cognitive functions, and constitute an assembly or framework that facilitates the learning of sequential information processing, such as memory. Conclusions. The techniques used in neurologic music therapy, which in recent years are being applied for cognitive neurorehabilitation, are not invasive and offer promising results that, together with further research, should be taken into account to be implemented alongside the conventional therapies of cognitive neurorehabilitation and stimulation

Terapias musicales en la rehabilitación del lenguaje y musicoterapia en personas con demencia / No disponible

La música surgió de manera simultánea al lenguaje dada la necesidad de los humanos de comunicarse y cooperar. Todas las personas, al nacer, contamos con las habilidades necesarias para procesar la música, una acción que implica una amplia red de conexiones cerebrales para la activación de diversas funciones cognitivas y su producción. Estas activaciones nos pueden resultar muy útiles tanto para el tratamiento de las personas con demencia como para otro tipo de trastornos, ya que en ellas se observan respuestas cognitivas, motoras, emocionales, etc. En el presente trabajo se revisan las intervenciones llevadas a cabo en personas con demencia utilizando la música y sus diferentes componentes, así como la Terapia de Entonación Melódica (TEM), utilizada en el tratamiento de la afasia no fluente(AU)

Music and language emerged simultaneously, due to the human necessity to communicate and cooperate. Every person is born with the basic abilities needed to process music, this process involves a wide network of cerebral connections that activate diverse cognitive functions. These activations can be very useful not only for the treatment of people with dementia but also for other kind of disorders as it has been observed the fact that there are reactions at cognitive, motor, emotional, etc. In this paper work we review these interventions done in people with dementia using music and its different components, it is also reviewed Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT), used in the treatment of nonfluent aphasia(AU)

[Music and brain (II): evidence of musical training in the brain]. / Música y cerebro (II): evidencias cerebrales del entrenamiento musical.

Music is a very powerful multimodal stimulus that transmits visual, auditory and motor information to our brain, which in turn has a specific network for processing it, consisting in the frontotemporoparietal regions. This activation can be very beneficial in the treatment of several syndromes and diseases, either by rehabilitating or by stimulating altered neuronal connections. We also review the peculiarities of the musician's brain and we look at how the brain adapts according to the needs that must be met in order to improve musical performance.

[Music and brain: neuroscientific foundations and musical disorders]. / Música y cerebro: fundamentos neurocientíficos y trastornos musicales.

Music is present in every culture and, from the earliest ages, we all have the basic capacities needed to process it, although this processing takes place in different modules that involve different regions of the brain. Do these regions form paths that are specific to musical processing? As we shall see, the production and perception of music engage a large part of our cognitive capabilities, involving areas of the auditory cortex and the motor cortex. On the other hand, music produces emotional responses within us that involve other cortical and subcortical areas. Are they the same paths as the ones engaged in the processing of emotions in general? We review the existing literature on these questions, as well as the different musical neurological disorders that exist, which range from musicogenic epilepsy to amusia, together with the different possible means of treatment.

Música y cerebro: fundamentos neurocientíficos y trastornos musicales / Music and brain: neuroscientific foundations and musical disorders

Resumen. La música está presente en todas las culturas y, desde edades tempranas, todas las personas tenemos las capacidades básicas para su procesamiento, el cual está organizado en módulos diferenciados que implican distintas regiones cerebrales. ¿Forman estas regiones rutas específicas del procesamiento musical? Como veremos, la producción y percepción musical implican gran parte de nuestras capacidades cognitivas, involucrando áreas del córtex auditivo y del córtex motor. Por otro lado, la música produce en nosotros respuestas emocionales que involucran distintas áreas corticales y subcorticales. ¿Se trata de las mismas rutas implicadas en el procesamiento de las emociones en general? Revisamos la bibliografía existente sobre estas cuestiones, así como las diferentes alteraciones neurológicas musicales que existen, desde la epilepsia musicogénica hasta la amusia, así como las diferentes posibilidades de tratamiento (AU)

Summary. Music is present in every culture and, from the earliest ages, we all have the basic capacities needed to process it, although this processing takes place in different modules that involve different regions of the brain. Do these regions form paths that are specific to musical processing? As we shall see, the production and perception of music engage a large part of our cognitive capabilities, involving areas of the auditory cortex and the motor cortex. On the other hand, music produces emotional responses within us that involve other cortical and subcortical areas. Are they the same paths as the ones engaged in the processing of emotions in general? We review the existing literature on these questions, as well as the different musical neurological disorders that exist, which range from musicogenic epilepsy to amusia, together with the different possible means of treatment (AU)