Evaluating the cognitive benefits associated with an acting intervention: A brain-behavior framework

Aishwarya, -

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/113232 Copy

Description

Title

Evaluating the cognitive benefits associated with an acting intervention: A brain-behavior framework

Author(s)

Aishwarya, -

Issue Date

2020-07-09

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Kramer, Arthur F

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

• Kramer, Arthur F
• Heller, Wendy

Committee Member(s)

• Stine-Morrow, Elizabeth
• Sutton, Brad
• Barbey, Aron
• Daugherty, Ana

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• aging
• older adults
• acting
• cognitive intervention
• executive function
• interference control
• modularity
• AXCPT

Abstract

Purpose: Aging affects the configuration of large-scale functional brain networks with a corresponding decline in higher-order cognitive function. These cognitive changes can often compromise the ability to function independently. Previous research has suggested that the aging brain exhibits plasticity, and that cognitive stimulation is an important predictor of improved cognitive function in this population. Given this observation, various cognitive interventions have been proposed with the aim of protecting cognitive abilities into advanced age. Accumulating evidence suggests that engagement-based intervention models may be more effective in eliciting cognitive change than interventions targeted at specific cognitive skills (e.g., computer-based training). We investigated the cognitive benefits ascribed to one such engagement-based model, namely, acting. Acting is a unique broad-based intervention strategy that embeds individuals in complex social contexts. It facilitates deployment of multiple cognitive-affective and physiological processes, suggesting generalizability to cognitive functioning. To this end, we designed a 4-week theater-based acting intervention in older adults within an RCT framework. We hypothesized that older adults would show improvements in multiple domains of cognitive functioning—as well as associated changes in brain function and organization—relative to pre-intervention and an active control group. Within this context, we pursued two-interrelated lines of investigation, presented in Chapters 1 and 2 respectively. In Chapter 1, we postulated that older adults would show improvements in various aspects of executive function and brain modularity, ascribed to the acting intervention. In Chapter 2, we conducted an exploratory analysis to determine which mode of interference control (proactive or reactive) showed more “plasticity” and benefits, attributable to the acting intervention. Materials and Methods: The participants were 179 adults from the community, aged 60–89 years and on average, college educated. They were administered a battery of cognitive tests and functional-MRI (fMRI) tasks and then assigned to either an acting intervention (n = 93) or an active control (n = 86) condition, according to time of enrollment. Participants in the active intervention group enacted scenes with a partner that involved recruitment of various aspects of executive function and executive control. Participants in the active control group learned about the history and styles of acting. Both groups were trained by theater-actor researchers with expertise in acting interventions. Both groups met two times/week for 75-minutes for four weeks. At the end of this four-week period, a repeat cognitive battery of tests and fMRI tasks were administered. To evaluate the hypothesis presented in Chapter 1, a discriminant-analysis framework was used to determine which group (i.e., intervention or control) showed performance gains following the intervention on seven executive functioning tasks. A mixed model was used to evaluate intervention effects related to modularity. The exploratory analysis presented in Chapter 2 was conducted on brain-behavioral performance on the AX-CPT task, within a mixed-model framework. Results: In Chapter 1, we found evidence that the acting intervention facilitated improvements primarily on tasks that indexed the updating aspect of executive function. We also noted an increase in brain modular organization in the acting group, relative to pre-intervention and controls. However, these changes in executive function did not appear to interact with the observed increase in brain modularity to distinguish groups. In Chapter 2, we found that the acting group deployed more (efficient) reactive control relative to proactive control. Conclusion: Collectively, findings from both chapters appeared to support acting as a viable-lifestyle intervention choice with enhancements across multiple cognitive domains, especially the updating component of executive functions and reactive control. Additionally, we noted an increase in brain modular organization attributed to the intervention, and a higher functional activation in regions associated with reactive control. These observations provide compelling evidence that an engagement-based model like acting can potentially diminish cognitive declines associated with aging.

Graduation Semester

2021-08

Type of Resource

Thesis

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/113232

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Copyright 2020 Aishwarya Rajesh

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