Computerized Cognitive Stimulation:
Memory+Attention+Focus = +++++
If you’ve started to forget simple things, lose your train of thought in conversations or feel more disorganized than before, you’re not alone. More and more people – whatever their age – are experiencing difficulties with memory, attention and concentration, sometimes without realizing how much it affects their daily lives.
We live in a time when mental overload, multitasking, sleep deprivation and chronic stress are subtly but surely affecting: sustained attention, working memory, organizational and decision-making capacity and information processing speed.
🧠Have you noticed that your memory is not the same? Is your attention wandering more and more?
Memory and Attention: Fundamentals of cognitive processing
Memory and attention are fundamental cognitive functions, essential for environmental adaptation, learning, decision making and maintaining personal identity. Although distinct, these processes are closely interlinked and constantly influence each other.
😀 What is attention?
Attention is the ability of the cognitive system to actively select and process relevant information from the environment while ignoring irrelevant stimuli. It functions as an active filter that allows mental resources to focus on certain tasks or stimuli.
There are several forms of mindfulness, each with a specific role:
➡️ Sustained attention – staying focused on a task over time;
⤵️ Selective attention – choosing a stimulus from a competitive set;
↔️ Divided attention – processing multiple sources of information simultaneously;
↕️ Attention switching – quickly switching from one task to another.
Attention dysfunctions can occur in various psychiatric and neurological disorders (ADHD, depression, cognitive disorders), but also in the context of stress, chronic fatigue or overwork.
🤯 What is memory?
Memory is che brain’s ability to encode, store and retrieve information over time. It is organized into several types, depending on the duration and nature of the information retained:
⏲️ Short-term memory (working memory) – allows you to temporarily retain information needed for immediate tasks (e.g. a phone number);
🗓️ Long-term memory – contains consolidated information.
Memory processes involve several stages: encoding, consolidation, storage and retrieval. Any disruption or damage at these stages can lead to difficulties in remembering or forgetting.
The link between attention and memory
For information to be retained correctly, it is essential that attention is functional. Without an effective attentional filter, stimuli may be perceived superficially or ignored, which affects the encoding process in memory. Thus, attention is the gateway to memory – and any attentional deficit will inevitably be reflected in memory performance.
Assessment and support of attention and memory functions are essential in psychiatric, neurological and neuropsychological practice. Disturbances of these functions may occur: in the context of neurocognitive disorders (e.g. Alzheimer’s, MCI), in depression, anxiety, ADHD, as a result of chronic fatigue or the impact of prolonged stress on executive functioning.
Interventions such as cognitive stimulation, psychotherapy, sleep hygiene, stress management and pharmacological treatments can help optimize these functions.
If you start to forget simple things, lose your train of thought in conversations or feel more disorganized than before, you’re not alone. More and more people – regardless of age – are experiencing difficulties with memory, attention and concentration, sometimes without realizing how much it affects their daily lives.
These signs can appear in:
- prolonged stress or chronic fatigue
- depression, anxiety or burnout
- dementia
- recovery from COVID or other conditions
The good news is that there are effective solutions – and one of them is computerized cognitive stimulation, a modern, personalized and science-based method used in Med Anima clinic with very good results.
With specialized software, we can work directly on:
🎯 attention and concentration
🧠 working memory
💽 information processing speed
🗃️ organizational and planning skills
Patients who attended these sessions noticed a clear improvement in cognitive functions, better mental state and more self-confidence.
Why is cognitive training important even for young people or people without a psychiatric diagnosis?
When we talk about cognitive stimulation or “brain training”we often only think of the elderly or people with cognitive impairment. But the reality is that anyone can benefit – including active young people, students, professionals or people without any psychiatric condition.
We live in a time when mental overload, multitasking, sleep deprivation and chronic stress are subtly but surely affecting: sustained attention, working memory, organizational and decision-making capacity and information processing speed.
In young people, cognitive training helps to:
✔️ improving academic or professional performance
✔️ developing executive skills (planning, prioritization, impulse control)
✔️ preventing cognitive burnout and mental exhaustion
In healthy adults, exercise keeps the brain active, supports concentration and contributes to a more balanced and productive lifestyle.
Properly guided computerized cognitive stimulation is a modern form of mental hygiene, just as going to the gym is for the body. Prevention in mental health starts with taking care of cognitive functioning, not just when problems arise, but before.
What is Computerized Cognitive Stimulation?
Computerized Cognitive Stimulation is a comprehensive and sophisticated software system for computer-assisted cognitive rehabilitation. This practical tool assists the therapist in the rehabilitation of cognitive disorders that affect specific aspects of attention, concentration, memory, perception, activities of daily living and more.
By solving tasks, brain processes will be activated and important brain functions will be improved or restored. Computerized Cognitive Stimulation can be used even at an acute stage of an injury and remains relevant at all stages of recovery. Training modules can be easily selected based on screening.
The software is self-adaptive, the therapeutic program is personalizedso the level of difficulty will increase and decrease according to the patient’s performance. After a period of therapy in a medical facility, the patient can also be supervised at home, via the internet, using the remote supervised instruction option offered by computerized cognitive stimulation.
The modules cover all cognitive deficits, including attention, reaction, memory and higher executive functions. This means that deficits can be specifically targeted and trained. The system is self-adaptive, meaning that the activity will become more difficult or easier depending on the client’s performance. This ensures steady progression while positively impacting the patient. Computerized cognitive stimulation offers a series of screening modules to detect deficits and recommend appropriate cognitive training modules. Regular screening can also help to demonstrate progression and provide detailed reports.
🔑The effectiveness of computer-assisted cognitive stimulation: scientific evidence
Computerized cognitive stimulation has become increasingly used in interventions to improve cognitive function in both healthy adults and people with mild cognitive impairment.
Recent large studies and meta-analyses confirm that these programs can have significant beneficial effects on memory, attention, executive functions and speed of information processing (Lampit et al., 2014; Kueider et al., 2012). In particular, adaptive training, based on the principles of brain plasticity, has demonstrated notable improvements in cognitive performance in older adults (Smith et al., 2009).
Computerized cognitive stimulation is also useful for people with mild cognitive impairment, and is associated with slowing the progression of decline and relieving symptoms (Cheng et al., 2012; Reijnders et al., 2013).
These results support the implementation of computerized cognitive stimulation as an integral part of prevention and treatment programs in psychiatry and neurology, contributing to the maintenance of long-term mental and functional health.
Patient benefits in Computerized Cognitive Stimulation
With constant use, the patient will notice a clear improvement in areas of cognitive deficits. Many tasks will reinforce their therapist’s strategies and maximize recovery. Computerized Cognitive Stimulation is adaptable to the patient, can account for visual deficits and even use familiar stimuli –such as family pictures– in training, can be used remotely under therapist supervision via the internet. The modules automatically adapt to the patient’s success. When they find a task difficult, they will find it gets easier until they can cope. If it is relatively easy, the software will introduce a little more challenge and prevent boredom.
Computerized Cognitive Stimulation – an effective intervention that we applied directly with patients
In recent years, I have had the opportunity to work directly, as a therapist, with patients who have undergone computerized cognitive stimulation programs. I am not only speaking from theory, but also from practice – I have accompanied patients through the process step by step, tailored the interventions to their cognitive needs and seen first-hand, in the office, how this method can bring real change.
We have applied this intervention both to young adults with concentration difficulties and mental fatigue and to older adults with mild cognitive impairment or in early stages of cognitive deterioration. In some cases it has been part of a treatment plan for depression, anxiety or schizophrenia, in others a cognitive prevention strategy for people in periods of intense intellectual stress or in the early stages of age-related decline.
Dr. Mădălina Gurguță
What I observed as a therapist:
✔️ Patients become more mentally active, more present, more organized in thinking.
✔️ It clearly improves processing speed, attention and the ability to work with complex information.
✔️ Increased ability to concentrate and sustain attention.
✔️ Improve working memory and processing speed.
✔️ Reducing symptoms of “mental fog” (very common in depression, anxiety or post-COVID).
✔️ A boost in self-confidence and motivation, observable in everyday life.
✔️ In the elderly, a delay in cognitive deterioration.
✔️ Even patients who were reluctant at first were surprised by the positive effects – not just in exercise, but in everyday life.
My professional recommendation on computerized cognitive stimulation
Dr. Mădălina Gurguță:
As a psychiatrist, constantly concerned with improving the quality of the therapeutic act and finding the most effective complementary solutions for my patients, I would like to share with you some observations and recommendations related to computerized cognitive stimulation – a method that is gaining more and more scientific validation and clinical applicability in recent years.
It is a therapeutic method that uses digital platforms or specialized apps that offer structured and individually tailored exercises to train specific cognitive functions. The exercises are varied, progressive and can be personalized according to the patient’s profile.
I recommend computerized cognitive stimulation because it is non-invasive, accessible, adaptable and has a real impact on patients’ quality of life. Unlike some drug treatments, it has no side effects and can be used in conjunction with psychotherapy or medication without replacing them.
For me, as a psychiatrist in active clinical practice, it is important to be able to recommend methods that I know work. Computerized Cognitive Cognitive Stimulation is one of those modern interventions, scientifically validated, but also effectively tested in my practice. It does not replace psychiatric treatment or psychotherapy, but complements it in a very valuable way.
If you have problems with attention, memory, concentration or simply want to keep your mind active, talk to your psychiatrist. This type of cognitive stimulation may be just what you need.
It can be adapted for children (especially in cases of ADHD or learning difficulties), adults and the elderly. The important thing is to use it regularly and with therapeutic guidance.
Clinical case: Patient with mild cognitive impairment – significant progress after 20 sessions of computerized cognitive stimulation
In the office I had the opportunity to work with a 67-year-old patient, a person used to an intellectually active lifestyle. He came to the consultation accompanied by his wife, concerned that for some time now he frequently forgets recent things, loses the train of thought in conversations and has difficulty organizing daily activities-including simple tasks such as paying bills or scheduling recurring activities.
Clinical evaluation and standardized tests revealed a mild cognitive disorder. The functions affected in particular: short-term memory, sustained attention and cognitive flexibility. In addition to the cognitive impairment, the patient also showed a decrease in mental alertness, despondency and anxiety related to loss of independence.
After the screening we integrated into his therapeutic plan a structured program of 20 sessions of computerized cognitive stimulation, carried out over about 4 weeks, with a frequency of 5 sessions per week. We used exercises adapted to his level and continuous performance monitoring.
What I noticed, progressively, during the intervention:
👉🏻 After the first 5-6 sessions: the patient started to regain his confidence, felt “more present” and more mentally active.
👉🏻 After 10-12 sessions: significant improvements in attention and organization – he was able to follow more complex tasks, he was more coherent in expression, more self-confident.
👉🏻 After 20 sessions: the family noticed the difference in daily life. She resumed activities she had abandoned (reading, handling small administrative responsibilities), and her mood improved considerably.
Objective results: cognitive test scores improved
CONCLUSIONS
In conclusion, computerized cognitive stimulation is not “just a computer game” – it is real brain training with proven positive effects. From my clinical experience so far, I can say that it is a modern, effective and necessary tool in many therapeutic plans.
Dr. Ionela Mădălina Gurguță
Specialist Psychiatrist, Psychotherapist
Clinica Med Anima Iași
References:
- Lampit, A., Hallock, H., & Valenzuela, M. (2014). computerized cognitive training in cognitively healthy older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis of effect modifiers. PLoS Medicine, 11(11), e1001756. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001756
- Kueider, A. M., Parisi, J. M., Gross, A. L., & Rebok, G. W. (2012). Computerized cognitive training with older adults: a systematic review. PLoS ONE, 7(7), e40588. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0040588
- Cheng, Y., Wang, C., Guo, Z., & Huang, J. (2012). The effects of computer-based cognitive training on cognitive outcomes in mild cognitive impairment: a meta-analysis. Neuropsychology Review, 22(4), 376-386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-012-9207-6
- Smith, G. A cognitive training program based on principles of brain plasticity: results from the IMPACT study. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 57(4), 594-603. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.02167.x
- Reijnders, J., van Heugten, C., & van Boxtel, M. (2013). cognitive interventions in healthy older adults and people with mild cognitive impairment: a systematic review. Ageing Research Reviews, 12(1), 263-275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2012.07.003
- Cowan, N., Bao, C., Bishop-Chrzanowski, B. M., et al. (2024). The relation between attention and memory. Annual Review of Psychology, 75, 183-214.
- D’Esposito, M., & Postle, B. R. (2015). The cognitive neuroscience of working memory. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 115-142.
- Squire, L. R., & Wixted, J. T. (2011). The cognitive neuroscience of human memory since H.M. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 34, 259-288.
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