Does participation in art classes influence performance on two different cognitive tasks?

Abstract

Mental stimulation by participation in art classes leads to an improvement of processing speed and visuo-spatial cognition. Further investigation is required to improve understanding of the potential impact of art intervention on cognitive abilities across adulthood.

Can cognitive leisure activity prevent cognitive decline in older adults? A systematic review of intervention studies

“…The details of the 11 studies targeting healthy older adults are described in Table and Supporting Table 1. Regarding the research design, nine of the 11 studies were RCT, and the other two did not include a control group (pretest–post‐test design) . The characteristics of the participants were as follows: (i) the mean age of the participants was 75–84 years in four, and 60–74 years in seven; and (ii) the ratio of women was ≥50% in eight of the 11 studies; therefore, the majority of participants were women.…”

“…Interventions using writing were the most common intervention tool in studies targeting healthy older adults ( n = 4), followed by art ( n = 3), reading ( n = 2) and learning computer skills ( n = 2) . Only one study each used board games, crossword puzzles and handicrafts (each n = 1).…”

“…Only one study each used board games, crossword puzzles and handicrafts (each n = 1). In total, eight of the 11 studies showed improvement of some kind in cognitive domains through the interventions . The intervention period was generally approximately 2 or 3 months; the shortest was 1 month and the longest was 6 months .…”

“…In addition, the average exposure time for the studies in which an intervention effect was observed was 4501 min, and that for studies in which no intervention effect was observed was 3633 min. In two of 11 studies, no accurate description regarding the time of the intervention was provided, so the exposure time could not be calculated . Just three studies described the participation rates in intervention programs, which are considered to influence the results …”

“…Three art intervention studies were identified . The contents of the programs varied and included the following: activity producing their own art; mud crafts; expression using body parts; visiting museums; and analyzing, discussing and interpreting professional art materials . One of these three studies was used as the control group of a therapeutic writing program .…”