Tohoku University focuses on cognitive training for persons with dementia

- Patients with dementia, parkinson, schizofrenia, post-poerative persons and also healthy elders is showing an incresed cognitive function after applying our brain training programmes. This is uttered by assosiate professor Rui Nouchi who visited SEFAS at the end of October.

The brain training programmes are developed by researchers at the Smart Aging Research Centre at Tohoku University (see fact box) and is based on pen and paper exercises and is supposed to be performed for 15 minutes five days a week over a certain number of weeks. The resarch lab Nouchi is employed at is led by professor Ryuta Kawashima. Based on their reserach results Kawashima has also developned brain training games for Nintendo.

Several international reserachers has questioned the effect of these brain traning games, but Nouchi says their results show that the brain activitiy and flow is increasing.

- The patients are also experiensing a feeling of success when they master these games, Nouchi explains. 

The aim of the brain training programmes is to increase the cognitive function and as a consequence peoples quality of life.

Nouchi is a researcher at SARC/IDAC at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan. SEFAS has visisted Tohoku University at several occations and work together to innovate how we think about elderly care and smart solutions. 

Listen to Nouchi when he tells about their research results.

Chosen publications

Nouchiet al., Trials, 2012

Nouchiet al., Plos One, 2012

Sato,Nouchietal.,.Plos One, 2015

Nouchiet al.,Frontiers in Human NueroScience, 2016

Kulason, Nouchiet al.,Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 2018