The Effects of Spaced Retrieval Combined With Errorless Learning in Institutionalized Elders With Dementia: Recall Performance, Cognitive Status, and Food Intake.

The Effects of Spaced Retrieval Combined With Errorless Learning in Institutionalized Elders With Dementia: Recall Performance, Cognitive Status, and Food Intake. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2014 Mar 13; Authors: Wu HS, Lin LC, Su SC, Wu SC Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the effects on recall performance, cognitive status, and food intake when using accumulating cues in a spaced retrieval (SR) paradigm. In a double-blinded experimental design, 32 participants in the SR combined with errorless learning (SR/EL) group and 29 participants in the SR-only group were trained in a variety of eating-related actions. Accumulating cues were used within each SR trial in the SR/EL group. The participants' recall performance, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores, and the portion of a meal that participants had eaten were measured. After the 8-week training period, results showed significantly improved recall performances (P<0.0031) and food intake (t=2.140, P=0.038) in the SR/EL group compared with the SR-only group. MMSE scores showed no significant differences after the 8-week intervention (t=1.315, P=0.194). Results suggest that an SR/EL intervention could create optimal learning conditions for the self-regulation of common eating difficulties in people with dementia. PMID: 24632986 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord Source Type: research