2024 Alzheimer's Association Research Grant (AARG)
Olfactory Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment
Can smell training improve brain function in people with memory loss?
Jeffrey Motter, Ph.D.
Columbia University
New York, NY - United States
Background
An impaired sense of smell (olfaction) is linked to an increased risk of cognitive decline and developing dementia. Researchers have shown that disruption of sensory systems, such as smell, may occur early in diseases that cause cognitive impairments, including Alzheimer’s.
Studies have shown that having a mentally stimulating lifestyle may delay the onset of dementia. One way to engage the brain is through olfactory (smell) training, which research suggests may also improve the sense of smell in young adults and cognitively unimpaired older adults. Studies also indicate that olfactory training may increase cognition, verbal fluency, verbal learning, and memory. However, more research is needed before we can be certain whether smell training is of potential benefit to help people with cognitive decline, dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Research Plan
Dr. Jeffery Motter and his colleagues will study whether olfactory training may be able to improve the sense of smell in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, a condition of subtle memory loss that may precede Alzheimer’s dementia or another dementia) and whether such training could help improve thinking and memory. They will compare how olfactory training compares to another kind of sensory training, visual memory training, in another group of adults with MCI.
The researchers will conduct a pilot study with 30 individuals who have MCI. Half will receive olfactory training, and half will receive visual memory training. The participants will do a program of forty-eight 10-minute training sessions over three months. Dr. Motter and team will collect measures of cognition at start, and at three months and six months after the start of training.
Impact
This study may provide an understanding of the usefulness of different types of cognitive training for people at risk of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s. If successful, the results may shed light on the types of training most likely to have broad cognitive benefits.