P1‐057: IMPROVEMENTS IN BRAIN CONNECTIVITY IN PATIENTS WITH COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS AFTER SMARTPHONE‐BASED COGNITIVE TRAINING: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Because of the importance of early interventions in cognitive decline, cognitive training using electronic devices is becoming popular. However, its effectiveness is not clear. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of smartphone cognitive training on cognitive function and brain connectivity. Six patients with mild cognitive impairments and one patient with early dementia performed smartphone-based cognitive training twice a week for four weeks. The cognitive training occurred in four cognitive domains (sensory perception, attention, working memory, and reasoning). Language and visual functions were utilized in every domain through the smartphone-based design. Before and after the cognitive training, the patients’ cognitive functions were tested, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed. The results were then compared. In the analysis of the group containing all seven participants, cognitive function did not improve in any domain after the training. However, the individuals with mild cognitive impairments showed post-training improvements in attention, language function, visuospatial function, verbal and spatial memory, naming ability, and executive function. The resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging results showed increased activation after the training in several networks responsible for language function, attention, and executive function.