Home › Research › Cognitive tests and assessment
Randomized trial on the effects of a combined physical/cognitive training in aged MCI subjects: the Train the Brain study
Train the Brain Consortium.. Scientific reports, 2017-01-03
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Age-related cognitive impairment and dementia are an increasing societal burden. Epidemiological studies indicate that lifestyle factors, e.g. physical, cognitive and social activities, correlate with reduced dementia risk; moreover, positive effects on cognition of physical/cognitive training have been found in cognitively unimpaired elders. Less is known about effectiveness and action mechanisms of physical/cognitive training in elders already suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a population at high risk for dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Train the Brain Consortium. (2017). Randomized trial on the effects of a combined physical/cognitive training in aged MCI subjects: the Train the Brain study. Scientific reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39471
Vancouver
Train the Brain Consortium. Randomized trial on the effects of a combined physical/cognitive training in aged MCI subjects: the Train the Brain study. Scientific reports. 2017. doi:10.1038/srep39471. PMID: 28045051.
BibTeX
@article{study2017-28045051,
author = {{Train the Brain Consortium}},
title = {{Randomized trial on the effects of a combined physical/cognitive training in aged MCI subjects: the Train the Brain study}},
journal = {Scientific reports},
year = {2017},
doi = {10.1038/srep39471},
pmid = {28045051},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39471}
}
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.
Key findings
- Epidemiological studies indicate that lifestyle factors, e.g. physical, cognitive and social activities, correlate with reduced dementia risk; moreover, positive effects on cognition of physical/cognitive training have been found in cognitively unimpaired elders.
- Less is known about effectiveness and action mechanisms of physical/cognitive training in elders already suffering from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a population at high risk for dementia.
- We assessed in 113 MCI subjects aged 65-89 years, the efficacy of combined physical-cognitive training on cognitive decline, Gray Matter (GM) volume loss and Cerebral Blood Flow (CBF) in hippocampus and parahippocampal areas, and on brain-blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) activity elicited by a cognitive task, measured by ADAS-Cog scale, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Arterial Spin Labeling (ASL) and fMRI, respectively, before and after 7 months of training vs. usual life.
- Cognitive status significantly decreased in MCI-no training and significantly increased in MCI-training subjects; training increased parahippocampal CBF, but no effect on GM volume loss was evident; BOLD activity increase, indicative of neural efficiency decline, was found only in MCI-no training subjects.
Why it matters
This trial tested combined physical and cognitive training in 113 people with mild cognitive impairment. It does not report that this training cures or prevents Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 62/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a randomised controlled trial. Scored zero for sample size and effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Scientific reports) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Scientific Reports: journal h-index 463 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomised controlled trial (from PubMed type “Randomized Controlled Trial”) |
| 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 | 2 / 5 | 2017 — within 10 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 | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomised (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 171 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 15.5 citations a year over 11 year(s) since 2017 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 16.0× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 33 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 1 / 4 | Last-listed author Leda Volpi: h-index 16 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare: institution h-index 1,331 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 9 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28045051) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 62 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 23.
Later studies that cite this one
7 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Cognitive tests and assessment
Also tagged “controlled”
1,118 studies in the library carry the topic tag “controlled”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 1,118 tagged studies.