Neuroplasticity of explicit memory during training – a fMRI study in normal aging and MCI

Introduction: In patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), mnestic deficits occur long before the onset of dementia. During follow-up, memory decline proceeds in these patients whereas cognitively unimpaired older persons show a stable memory performance. In order to investigate the neural basis underlying cognitive training effects in probands at risk to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in healthy controls we developed a fMRI paradigm of explicit memory function. Methods: 11 patients with MCI and 11 controls were enrolled in the study. Before and after an one-week-training period all participants under…