Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Psicothema, 2011. Vol. Vol. 23 (nº 1). 44-50
Bernardino Fernández-Calvo, Roberto Rodríguez-Pérez, Israel Contador, Alicia Rubio-Santorum y Francisco Ramos
Universidad Federal de Paraíba (Brasil)
Fundación Velum, Universidad de Salamanca
El estudio pretende evaluar la eficacia del ‘Big Brain Academy’ (BBA), un programa de entrenamiento cognitivo (EC) computarizado basado en un videojuego, frente al Programa de Psicoestimulación Integral (PPI), un instrumento típico de EC, en pacientes con Enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA). Un total de 45 pacientes con EA, en fase leve, fueron asignados de manera aleatoria a tres condiciones experimentales. Se establecieron dos grupos de tratamiento, donde los pacientes recibieron o bien un programa de estimulación con BBA (EABB), o bien un programa estimulación tradicional (EAPI), basado en tareas de papel y lápiz, durante doce semanas. Un tercer grupo, que no recibió ningún tratamiento durante este período, se le asignó la condición de grupo control (EANT). La eficacia diferencial de los programas se evaluó mediante un diseño pre-post, a través de medidas neuropsicológicas, conductuales y funcionales estandarizadas. El grupo EABB mostró un declive cognitivo significativamente más lento en comparación a los grupos EAPI y EANT. Además, el grupo EABB manifestó una reducción de la sintomatología depresiva significativamente mayor en relación a los grupos EAPI y EANT. El BBA fue más efectivo que el PPI para reducir el declive cognitivo y los síntomas depresivos en los pacientes con EA.
Efficacy of cognitive training programs based on new software technologies in patients with Alzheimer- Type dementia. The study aims to assess the efficacy of the Big Brain Academy (BBA), a computerized cognitive training program (CT) based on video games, compared to the Integrated Psychostimulation Program (IPP), a classical CT tool for patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). A total of 45 patients with AD at the mild stage were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions. Two treatment groups were established, in which patients received either a stimulation program with BBA (EABB) or a traditional stimulation program (EAPI), based on paper-and-pencil tasks, for twelve weeks. A third group, the control group (EANT), did not receive any treatment during this period. The differential effectiveness of the programs was evaluated through pre-post design, considering neuropsychological, behavioral, and functional standard measures as outcome variables. The EABB group showed significantly slower rates of cognitive decline compared to the EAPI and EANT groups. Furthermore, the EABB group reported significantly greater decrease in depressive symptoms in comparison with the EAPI and EANT groups. The BBA program was more effective than IPP to reduce cognitive decline and depressive symptoms in patients with AD.
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