The evaluation of a US long-term study on brain training showed that participants had an up to 25 percent reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease 20 years later. Two exercise classes in particular turned out to be particularly effective.
In 2025, the number of people affected by Alzheimer’s and other dementias in Germany continued to rise. Around 1.8 million people live with dementia. Scientists around the world are researching strategies that could protect against the disease.
A team of scientists recently published new research results. They show: Brain training could help protect against Alzheimer’s and related dementias. More specifically, cognitive speed training in particular has a protective effect on the organ. Participants in the study who trained their brains with such tasks were 25 percent less likely to develop dementia.
The results were recently published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research and Clinical Interventions. For the study, almost 3,000 test subjects took part in ten brain training sessions over a period of six weeks. Some subjects were randomly selected to receive refresher training 11 and 35 months after the initial training.
“When we registered, our participants were between 65 and 94 years old,” Michael Marsiske, co-author of the study, is quoted as saying in a statement. “We did not find a significant reduction in exercise benefits with age, suggesting that exercise can be started at any time.”
Different tasks for the brain
Each session lasted 60 to 75 minutes. The test subjects were divided into four groups, each group completed training with different focuses: The first group trained Processing speed. The task required participants to understand increasingly complex information in a short period of time. The exercises challenged the participants with each subsequent unit – adapted to the subject’s progress. This form of speed training can physically change the brain and create new connections between brain networks, the researchers write in their paper.
The second group claimed the so-called “verbal episodic memory”. This part of the brain stores and remembers personal experiences. The area ties memories primarily to emotions. When training this area of the brain, the participants practiced retention strategies that help anchor information in long-term memory.
The third group trained logical thinking. In the exercise sequences, the test subjects were supposed to recognize and continue to recognize regularities, connections and logical sequences in visual (rows of figures) or numerical data. A fourth group served as a control group.
In retrospect, some training courses proved to be particularly effective. Improvements were seen immediately after the exercises, especially in speed training (87 percent), memory training (26 percent) and logical thinking training (74 percent). Speed and logical thinking training in particular showed lasting effects, according to the study. These improvements were maintained for a period of up to ten years.
After five years, participants reported having fewer difficulties with everyday tasks such as cooking, taking medication and managing finances.
As part of the 20-year follow-up – most of the participants who were still alive were now over 90 years old – the researchers evaluated the participants’ medical records to determine how many had dementia. The participants in the speed training group had their risk of dementia reduced by a quarter compared to the control group.
