How to enhance route learning and visuo-spatial working memory in aging: a training for residential care home residents

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a route-learning training in a group of older adults living in a residential care home. We verified the presence of training-specific effects in tasks similar to those trained – route-learning tasks – as well as transfer effects on related cognitive processes – visuo-spatial short-term memory (VSSTM; Corsi Blocks Test (CBT), forward version), visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM; CBT, backward version; Pathway Span Tasks; Jigsaw Puzzle Test) – and in self-report measures. The maintenance of training benefits was examined after 3 months.

Method: Thirty 70–90-year-old residential care home residents were randomly assigned to the route-learning training group or to an active control group (involved in non-visuo-spatial activities).

Results: The trained group performed better than the control group in the route-learning tasks, retaining this benefit 3 months later. Immediate transfer effects were also seen in visuo-spatial span tasks (i.e., CBT forward and backward version and Pathway Span Task); these benefits had been substantially maintained at the 3-month follow-up.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that a training on route learning is a promising approach to sustain older adults’ environmental learning and some related abilities (e.g., VSSTM and VSWM), even in residential care home residents.

KEYWORDS:

• Route-learning training
• navigation abilities
• visuo-spatial memory
• older adults
• residential care homes

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Angela Carolo, Alessandra Lobbia, and Daniela Pugliese for collecting the data.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.