ACTIVE Trial Cuts Dementia Risk 25% Over 20 Years With Speed Training
Updated
Updated · The American Bazaar · Aug 10
ACTIVE Trial Cuts Dementia Risk 25% Over 20 Years With Speed Training
3 articles · Updated · The American Bazaar · Aug 10
Summary
A 20-year follow-up of the ACTIVE study found older adults who received speed-of-processing training plus booster sessions had about a 25% lower rate of diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias than controls.
The randomized trial tracked 2,802 adults aged 65 and older assigned to memory, reasoning, speed training or a control group, and only the speed-training arm showed a statistically significant dementia-risk reduction.
That intervention trained rapid visual processing and divided attention through adaptive tasks that became harder as participants improved, rather than focusing on memory drills alone.
The study does not prove a computer game prevents Alzheimer’s, but it strengthens the case that preserving visual-information processing may matter for cognitive resilience as people age.