UAB and Fundación Rosa María Vivar study cognitive training for Alzheimer's prevention

Researchers from UAB and the Fundación Rosa María Vivar are evaluating how memory training during adolescence can build cognitive reserve to help prevent Alzheimer's disease decades later. The study utilizes the Neurotalent games program to explore how neural networks respond to continuous training by changing their physical structure, similar to how muscle fibers adapt to physical exercise.

Data from the Lancet Commission on Dementia suggests that nearly 45% of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed by addressing modifiable risk factors early. Because Alzheimer's degeneration begins silently 20 to 30 years before the first evident symptoms appear, researchers emphasize that neurological prevention should begin during stages of life when the brain possesses its highest capacity for transformation and building alternative connections.