Objective: Modern technologies are increasingly used in the development of cognitive interventions for older adults. Research into possible applications of virtual reality in such interventions has begun only recently. The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of 8 sessions of VR-based cognitive training using the GRADYS game in healthy older adults (n = 72; aged 60–88) and older adults living with mild dementia (n = 27; aged 60–89). Results: Older adults with mild dementia demonstrated worse baseline cognitive performance than participants without dementia. Both groups showed progress in training, which was greater in healthy older adults. There were also significant differences in cognitive functioning before and after the training. However, positive changes were revealed almost exclusively in the group of older adults without dementia. Based on the findings, we can recommend the GRADYS game for cognitive enhancement and as a possible counter-measure for cognitive decline experienced in normal cognitive ageing. Our results provide also support for the usefulness of VR technology in cognitive interventions in older adults. The use of the GRADYS game in persons living with dementia, however, would require several of the hardware and software modifications. Trial registration ISRCTN17613444, date of registration: 10.09.2019. Retrospectively registered

With 38 million residents, Poland has the eighth-largest population in Europe. A successful transition from communism to democracy, which began in 1989, has brought several significant changes to the country’s economic development, demographic structure, quality of life, and public policies. As in the other European countries, Poland has been facing a rapid increase in the number of older adults. Currently, the population 65 and above is growing more rapidly than the total population and this discrepancy will have important consequences for the country’s economy. As the population ages, there will be increased demands to improve Poland’s health care and retirement systems. This article aims to provide a brief overview of the demographic trends in Poland as well a look at the country’s major institutions of gerontology research. The article also describes key public policies concerning aging and how these may affect the well-being of Poland’s older adults.

Background: Seniors have been only little considered in studies examining problematic internet use and associated health issues, although they may present risk factors that make them particularly vulnerable for the development of problematic internet use.Objectives: (1) To compare Internet use and problematic use among seniors in Switzerland and Poland; (2) To examine the relationships between problematic internet use, impulsivity traits and well-being as previous studies showed that internet can be used to cope with negative emotions or life dissatisfaction.Methods: A cross-sectional survey conducted between June 2016 and April 2017 with 264 older internet users aged above 60 years old recruited in Switzerland (88) and Poland (176) assessing sociodemographic variables, online activities, problematic internet use, impulsivity traits and well-being.Results: The two groups differed in their reported online activities in that Polish participants reported more searching for information and buying, whereas Swiss participants reported significantly greater problematic internet use than Polish participants. Finally, a multiple linear regression analysis performed on the whole sample indicated that lower well-being and being a Swiss participant were both significantly associated with greater problematic internet use, after age, gender, level of education, impulsivity traits have been controlled for.Discussion: Swiss seniors showed a more problematic internet use than Polish participants who focused more in their online activities on utility use of internet. The relationships between problematic internet use and well-being suggest that older adults use internet mainly to cope with negative emotion or life dissatisfaction. Socio-cultural differences that could account for these group differences as well as difference with young adults are discussed.

The brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is a neurotrophin that plays an important role in the cell survival, axonal and dendritic growth, and synaptic plasticity. BDNF gene polymorphisms, 'functional Val66Met mainly, were shown to influence human brain structure and cognition. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between twelve BDNF gene variants and their haplotypes and cognitive performance measured using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Stroop Test which are to a large extent connected with prefrontal cortex activity. Our sample consisted of 460 healthy participants from Polish population. We detected possible association between five BDNF polymorphisms (rs11030101, rs10835210, rs2049046, rs2030324, rs2883187) and TMT_A. Additionally, one haplotype block made from eleven BDNF variants (rs2883187, rs1401635, rs2049046, rs2030324, rs11030101, rs10835210, rs1013402, rs1401635, rs1013402), as significant linkage disequilibrium appeared. We discovered possible relationships of CACCGCGTACG and CACCGCGTACG haplotypes with TMT_A and TMT_B performance respectively. Our results confirmed the involvement of BDNF in the regulation of psychomotor speed, working memory and executive function in healthy subjects measured by a task engaging visuoperceptual abilities.

Background The interest in the possibility of improving cognitive functioning through training of basic cognitive processes is growing. This possibility is of particular importance for older adults, whose cognitive functions are weakened, and who may need cognitive rehabilitation. However, improvement of the performance in the tasks being trained is not the only goal of basic cognitive processes training. Far transfer, onto tasks different to the ones trained, and engaging other (usually complex) processes, including fluid intelligence, is an important goal of such training. Yet, meta-analyses suggest that results of studies on the far transfer phenomenon vary, and are not conclusive. Participants and procedure One hundred and eighty healthy volunteers took part in this study. They were divided into groups: Experimental 1 (working memory training), Experimental 2 (attentional control training) and Control (non-contact). Each of these groups included participants from the two age subgroups: early and late adulthood. Training involved 7 appointments and lasted for about 4 weeks. Additional measurements, including an assessment of fluid intelligence, were performed on each group at baseline, and at the end of training. Results Our results suggest that (a) the training of basic cognitive processes in adults leads to an improvement in the correctness, but not the speed, at which tasks are performed, (b) there is a transfer effect onto fluid intelligence, but this effect is weak, and (c) the effects of basic cognitive process training depend on the kind of trained tasks, age of participants and the interactions between these two factors: working memory training is equally as effective in both age groups, whereas training of attentional control is particularly effective among older individuals, and has limited efficacy for young adults. Conclusions Finally, one can conclude that the effectiveness of basic cognitive function training is limited. However, it can be significant, even in the aspect of transfer, under conditions related to the type of trained tasks and the age of the participants.

Introduction: Cognitive ability is one of the most important enablers for successful aging. At the same time, cognitive decline is a well-documented phenomenon accompanying the aging process. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that aging can also be related to positive processes that allow one to compensate for the decline. These processes include the compensatory brain activity of older adults primarily investigated using fMRI and PET. To strengthen the cognitive interpretation of compensatory brain activity in older adults, we searched for its indicators in brain activity measured by EEG.Methods: The study sample comprised 110 volunteers, including 50 older adults (60–75 years old) and 60 young adults (20–35 years old) who performed 1-back, 2-back, and 3-back tasks while recording the EEG signal. The study analyzed (1) the level of cognitive performance, including sensitivity index, the percentage of correct answers to the target, and the percentage of false alarm errors; (2) theta and alpha power for electrodes located in the frontal-midline (Fz, AF3, AF4, F3, F4, FC1, and FC2) and the centro-parietal (CP1, CP2, P3, P4, and Pz) areas.Results: Cognitive performance was worse in older adults than in young adults, which manifested in a significantly lower sensitivity index and a significantly higher false alarm error rate at all levels of the n-back task difficulty. Simultaneously, performance worsened with increasing task difficulty regardless of age. Significantly lower theta power in the older participants was observed at all difficulty levels, even at the lowest one, where compensatory activity was expected. At the same time, at this difficulty level, cognitive performance was worse in older adults than in young adults, which could reduce the chances of observing compensatory brain activity. The significant decrease in theta power observed in both age groups with rising task difficulty can reflect a declining capacity for efficient cognitive functioning under increasing demands rather than adapting to this increase. Moreover, in young adults, alpha power decreased to some extent with increasing cognitive demand, reflecting adaptation to them, while in older adults, no analogous pattern was observed.Discussion: In conclusion, based on the results of the current study, the presence of compensatory activity in older adults cannot be inferred.