American and Canadian studies show that elderly people can exercise and boost their memory and learning -- just like exercising a bicep in the arm.

Here is a look at the exercises the Baycrest Research Centre for Aging and the Brain gave participants in a 12-week cognitive rehabilitation program.

The work was done in a small group setting and participants showed "significant improvement" in memory, practical task planning and psychosocial function.

Memory Training

- Participants were asked to keep a daily log book of 'memory slips', e.g. forgot to put out the blue box with the garbage, forgot my dentist appointment.

- They were encouraged to use external cues at home, such as date books/diaries, post-it notes, timers, and wall calendars.

- They were taught additional techniques and strategies for enhancing remembering, such as external self-talk (the process of working through a problem or situation by thinking out loud), routines and habits (placing car keys in the same location in the house ensures being able to find them when needed), and organization and planning in ways that reduce the number of memory slips.

- They were taught a variety of internal strategies which help to encode information in a deep and meaningful way. The six internal strategies include: categorization, story making, visual imagery, association, motor movement and spaced retrieval.

- Although participants were encouraged to learn and practice all strategies, it was recognized that different strategies work for different people in different situations and that combinations of strategies are commonly used.

Goal Management Training (GMT)

- This module focused on strategic or executive deficits such as forgetting to do things, difficulty solving problems, and disorganization.

- Participants underwent task-based training in attentional control and self-organization.

- They were trained to "stop and think" about a task demand, define the main task, split complex tasks into sub-tasks (ie. "stop-state-split") and monitor their performance.

- Simulated real-life tasks (SRLTs) were designed to mimic everyday activities that present problems - for example, setting up a car pool for 12 people in the city. The task dimensions included the carpool shift (morning or afternoon), whether or not the person is a driver or passenger, available seating, and map location. The participant was instructed to assign passengers to drivers according to the shift, in the most efficient manner possible considering each passenger's location on the map.

- Participants completed exercises during the training, did homework assignments and used examples from their own lives to illustrate concepts.

Psychosocial Training Module

- The aim of this training was to enhance participants' self-esteem and build confidence in their ability to respond to cognitive challenges.

- Participants were invited to offer vignettes from their personal lives, highlighting negative and positive experiences involving cognitive tasks that could be related to lack of confidence, feelings of not being in control, pessimism over outcome, etc. At the end of this discussion, they were asked to create a personal list of longstanding projects that were never begun or left incomplete.

- The group leader provided direction in scheduling a project at optimal times, taking appropriate breaks, and stressed the importance of applying strategies discussed in the goal management training sessions which include organizing the tasks into smaller, more manageable units.

- The relationship between psychological wellbeing and functioning in memory and daily life was emphasized throughout this module.

- Participants underwent tests to measure psychosocial wellbeing before and after the rehabilitation program.