Working Memory Training in Amnestic and Non-amnestic Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment: Preliminary Findings From Genotype Variants on Training Effects.

Working memory training (WMT) effects may be modulated by mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subtypes, and variations in -epsilon (-ε) and genotypes. Sixty-one individuals (41 men/20 women, mean age 66 years) diagnosed with MCI (31 amnestic/30 non-amnestic) and genotyped for -ε and completed 4 weeks/20-25 sessions of WMT. Cognitive functions were assessed before, 4 weeks and 16 weeks after WMT. Except for Processing Speed, the non-amnestic MCI group (naMCI) outperformed the amnestic MCI (aMCI) group in all cognitive domains across all time-points. At 4 weeks, working memory function improved in both groups ( < 0.0001), but at 16 weeks the effects only remained in the naMCI group. Better performance was found after training for the naMCI patients with -AA genotype and for the -ε4 carriers. Only the naMCI--ε4 group showed improved Executive Function at 16 weeks. WMT improved working memory and some non-trained cognitive functions in individuals with MCI. The naMCI group had greater training gain than aMCI group, especially in those with -AA genotype and among ε4-carriers. Further research with larger sample sizes for the subgroups and longer follow-up evaluations is warranted.