Behavioral Interventions to Prevent or Delay Dementia

"Will provide each couple with memory compensation training 5 days per week for 2 weeks, with initial and ending adherence sessions. All sessions will involve 45- 60 minutes of training. The curriculum is described briefly here.~Learning phases. three training stages from learning theory: 1) an acquisition phase in which use of the memory compensation system is learned, 2) an application phase in which a participant is taught to apply to his/her daily life, and 3) an adaptation phase in which a participant practices incorporating into his/her daily life so as to make its use habitual."

Will use the commercially available Posit Science product BrainHQ™ (www.brainhq.com) on tablets (e.g. iPads). Participants will complete 45-60 minutes of training daily in the program and will be encouraged to maintain 250 minutes of computerized brain training per week for 18 months post program. Each participant's adherence and progress will be tracked through the clinician portal provided by Posit Science both during HABIT and for 18 months post-program.

Patient: The patient support group will meet for 45-60 minutes daily. It will use the LifeBio Memory Journal© as a basis for reminiscence-focused group sessions. Partner: The care partner support group meets separately from the patient group for 45-60 minutes daily.

The education component will involve daily 60-minute group sessions with topics including Introduction to the Program, Living with MCI, Changes in Roles, Communication and Relationships, Sleep Hygiene, Steps to Healthy Brain Aging, Preventing Dementia, MCI and Depression, Nutrition and Exercise, Safety and Assistive Technologies, and Participating in Research, Community Resources, Meaning and Purpose, and Joy.

The HABIT physical exercise intervention is intended to initiate and sustain a schedule rather than a type of physical activity. HABIT will provide a customized DVD as a supplement for continued use and practice after the program to those that opt to continue yoga. Will use an activity log completed by the partner to track activity level of the participants during the 18 month follow-up period.