Cognitive training and cognitive rehabilitation for people with early-stage Alzheimer's disease: A review

Memory difficulties are a defining feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), with significant implications for people with AD and family members. Interventions aimed at helping with memory difficulties, therefore, may be important in reducing excess disability and improving well-being. There is a long tradition of cognition-focused intervention in dementia care. In this review we offer broad definitions and descriptions of three approaches to cognition-focused intervention for people with dementia—cognitive stimulation, cognitive training and cognitive rehabilitation—and attempt to clarify the underlying concepts and assumptions associated with each. Cognitive training and cognitive rehabilitation are the main approaches used with people who have early-stage AD. We review a range of studies describing the implementation of these two approaches, and evaluate the evidence for their effectiveness. With regard to cognitive training, the evidence currently available does not provide a strong demonstration of efficacy, but findings must be viewed with caution due to methodological limitations. It is not possible at present to draw firm conclusions about the efficacy of individualised cognitive rehabilitation interventions for people with early-stage dementia, due to the lack of any randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in this area, although indications from single-case designs and small group studies are cautiously positive. Further research is required that takes account of the conceptual and methodological issues outlined here.