Learning to preserve: foreign language training as a cognitive ‘vaccine’ to prevent old-age disorders?

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

NL-OMON

Registry ID

NL-OMON24412

Enrollment

113

Registered

2018-05-02

Start date

2018-10-30

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-02-28

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

subjective cognitive decline, depression,

Interventions

foreign language training

Eligibility

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1) between 65 years and 85 years of age; 2) a current experience of self-perceived persistent decline in cognitive capacity in comparison to his/her previously normal cognitive status which is unrelated to an acute event; 3) They should show normal age-, sex-, and education-adjusted performance (>= 23) on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA); 4) participants should be native Dutch speakers and functionally monolingual. That is, they should not use any language other than Dutch in their daily lives. They may have learned additional (foreign) languages in their lives, but they cannot be fluent in them ; 5) participants should display normal intelligence (IQ>85); 6) they should be able to read; 7) they should have access to a computer or tablet and have basic internet skills for both interventions that take place using an online format.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1) a diagnosis of MCI, prodromal AD or dementia according to DMS-V criteria; 2) having extensive experience playing a musical instrument for the last 20 years; 3) a psychiatric or neurologic disease (apart from AD), medical disorder, medication, or substance use; 4) any current DSM-V disorders according to the SCID-I interview or a past diagnosis in the last 10 years; 5) any current or past alcohol or drug dependency or abuse; 6) daily use of benzodiazepines or antidepressiva; 7) neurological problem (including epilepsy, dementia, neuromuscular disorders); 8) hearing or visual impairments other than correctable to normal by hearing devices or glasses.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Changes in cognitive flexibility and its neural underpinnings as a result of the foreign language training	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
health outcomes (depressive symptomatology, emotion regulation, rumination, cognitive decline, quality of life)	—

Contacts

Public ContactSaskia Nijmeijer

University Medical Center Groningen

s.e.nijmeijer@umcg.nl050 361 6440

Outcome results

None listed

Source: NL-OMON (via WHO ICTRP)