Home › Research › Brain scans and imaging
Cognitive intervention in Alzheimer disease
Buschert V, Bokde AL, Hampel H.. Nature reviews. Neurology, 2010-08-17
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Alzheimer disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent chronic medical conditions affecting the elderly population. The effectiveness of approved antidementia drugs, however, is limited-licensed AD medications provide only moderate relief of clinical symptoms. Cognitive intervention is a noninvasive therapy that could aid prevention and treatment of AD. Data suggest that specifically designed cognitive interventions could impart therapeutic benefits to patients with AD that are associated with substantial biological changes within the brain. Moreover, evidence indicates that a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions could provide greater relief of clinical symptoms than either intervention given alone. Functional and structural MRI studies have increased our understanding of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of aging and neurodegeneration, but the use of neuroimaging to investigate the effect of cognitive intervention on the brain remains largely unexplored. This Review provides an overview of the use of cognitive intervention in the healthy elderly population and patients with AD, and summarizes emerging findings that provide evidence for the effectiveness of this approach. Finally, we present recommendations for future research on the use of cognitive interventions in AD and discuss potential effects of this therapy on disease modification.
Key findings
- Data suggest that specifically designed cognitive interventions could impart therapeutic benefits to patients with AD that are associated with substantial biological changes within the brain.
- Moreover, evidence indicates that a combination of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions could provide greater relief of clinical symptoms than either intervention given alone.
Why it matters
Data suggest that specifically designed cognitive interventions could provide therapeutic benefits to patients with Alzheimer's disease associated with biological changes in the brain. Evidence also indicates that combining pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions could provide greater relief of clinical symptoms than either alone.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Brain scans & tests →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 44/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Nature reviews. Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Nature Reviews Neurology: journal h-index 269 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2010 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 176 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 9.8 citations a year over 18 year(s) since 2010 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 4 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 20 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Harald Juergen Hampel: h-index 136 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München: institution h-index 1,224 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 20717104) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 44 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Buschert, V., Bokde, A. L., & Hampel, H. (2010). Cognitive intervention in Alzheimer disease. Nature reviews. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2010.113
Vancouver
Buschert V, Bokde AL, Hampel H. Cognitive intervention in Alzheimer disease. Nature reviews. Neurology. 2010. doi:10.1038/nrneurol.2010.113. PMID: 20717104.
BibTeX
@article{buschert2010-20717104,
author = {Buschert, V. and Bokde, A. L. and Hampel, H.},
title = {{Cognitive intervention in Alzheimer disease}},
journal = {Nature reviews. Neurology},
year = {2010},
doi = {10.1038/nrneurol.2010.113},
pmid = {20717104},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2010.113}
}
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 19.
Later studies that cite this one
4 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Brain scans and imaging
Also in Brain scans and imaging
114 studies in the library are filed under Brain scans and imaging with no topic tag they share with another; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed tour of them. The Brain scans and imaging hub.