Cognitive training for elderly: a systematic review of Brazilian research

Abstract This systematic review about cognitive training for healthy elderly adults aimed to analyze 23 Brazilian studies regarding their methodological aspects and the evidence of effectiveness of interventions. The studies were published between 2000 and 2015. A search was performed in Scielo, PubMed and PsycInfo databases using the terms (Portuguese and English): cognitive training, cognitive stimulation, aging, elderly, and Brazilian. In a second step, the references of retrieved articles were consulted to identify any additional relevant studies. Almost all studies used the group intervention modality (n = 20). The number of sessions with participants ranged from 2 to 48 meetings. Regarding the cognitive skills that were targeted for intervention, 60.8% of the studies (n = 14) were focused on episodic memory training. For cognitive measures, 90.4% of the studies (n = 20) included common domain scales (not restricted to psychologists). Regarding the results, 47.6% of studies (n = 10) identified training purposes for at least one cognitive measure used. In conclusion, the national scene in cognitive training for older adults stands out for a tendency for collective interventions aimed at stimulating episodic memory. The present article argues for the importance of testing the effectiveness of interventions protocols.