Effect of cognitive training on cortisol levels in patients with neurocognitive disorders

Comprehensive Summary

This study discusses how high cortisol levels can lead to faster progression of degenerative neurocognitive disorders, or NCDS, and investigates whether cortisol training (CT) can affect how cortisol is secreted in individuals with minor and major NCDs, and then compares CT to pharmacological medication. To conduct this study, sixty two older adults with NCDs and forty three healthy older adults were sampled from the University Hospital of Padua. Within the group of adults with NCDS, thirty four were given CT and twenty eight were given pharmacological medication. The patients that received CT displayed a higher decrease in their daily cortisol exposure area under the curve from the baseline. Importantly though, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant after adjustment for variables.

Outcomes and Implications

Cognitive training shows great promise in lowering cortisol levels and increasing cognitive function for patients with NCDs through adjusting hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis activities in the body. However, broader and more randomized studies are needed to ensure that the findings of this study were valid and to increase the overall literature about the CT and how it can be used to improve the conditions of patients with NCDs.