Non-Medication Approaches to Optimize Memory and Thinking Abilities in Older Adults
Additional Lecture To Be Announced
The true and perceived cognitive effects of aging have been well studied for decades, yet there has been shockingly little emphasis on methods of prolonging or enhancing cognition. This session will focus on promising non-pharmacologic treatment approaches as they apply to cognition in older adults across the “healthy” to dementia spectrum. Specifically, the effects of cognition oriented treatments (e.g., cognitive rehabilitation, cognitive training) and neuromodulation (also known as brain stimulation) will be discussed. Evidence supporting or refuting cognitive effects will be complemented by data showing structural and/or functional changes within the brain that may predict and/or reflect treatment effects. As time allows, participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and probe into the reasons why these techniques may work and for whom they work.
Benjamin Hampstead
Stanley Berent, Ph.D. Collegiate Professor of Psychology, Department of Psychiatry
Staff Psychologist, Mental Health Service, VA Medical Center, Ann Arbor
Director, Research Program on Cognition and Neuromodulation Based Interventions
Clinical Core Leader, Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center
University of Michigan
As a board-certified clinical neuropsychologist and nearly 17 year researcher-clinician in the Department of Veterans Affairs, Benjamin Hampstead, Ph.D., focuses on the assessment and treatment of cognitive and emotional deficits arising from aging, dementia, and other conditions that affect the brain. He leads the Clinical Core and co-leads the Neuroimaging Core of the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and, in these roles, is responsible for overseeing the assessment and diagnosis of over 550 older adults across the “healthy” to dementia spectrum. He has led and supported multiple initiatives that enhance access and diagnosis across the state of Michigan.
While diagnosis (i.e., “What’s happening?”) plays a critical role in his clinical and research interests, Dr. Hampstead’s true passion focuses on the “What now?” and “What can I do about it?” questions that follow diagnosis. To answer these questions, Dr. Hampstead and his team use two main types of non-pharmacologic treatments to maximize everyday functioning. Across both types of treatment, the team uses neuroimaging to understand the reasons these deficits emerge, identify targeted brain regions for treatment, and to evaluate changes arising from treatment.
The first intervention approach, known as cognition oriented treatments, are techniques that help train and strengthen cognitive abilities that are affected by disease and injury. Some techniques are relatively simple, such as teaching patients new approaches for learning and remembering specific types of information. More complex techniques can involve computerized training programs as well as person-centered “cognitive rehabilitation” programs that maximize one’s ability to live independently and with the highest quality of life.
Second, Dr. Hampstead uses non-invasive brain stimulation to enhance patterns of brain activation and communication. These stimulation techniques pass different forms of energy through the skull in order to target brain regions that are either dysfunctional (i.e., attempting to “restore” functioning) or preserved (i.e., engaging other regions in a “compensatory” manner). Dr. Hampstead pioneered methods that allow personalized brain stimulation in the comfort of patients’ own homes, which has engaged those throughout Michigan and surrounding states.