DIGITAL COGNITIVE EXERCISES

Executive functions are a complex set of cognitive functions responsible for planning, decision-making, regulating behavior, and inhibition of undesirable behaviors. In the front of the brain, key areas such as the dorsal-prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are highly connected to other areas of the brain that rely on these cognitive functions. Executive functioning is important for activities, such as driving, where impulse control is of the utmost importance to prevent accidents on the road.

Visual information is processed in both hemispheres of the brain using a dorsal (where) and ventral (what) stream. The dorsal stream, or the “where” stream, processes the location and spatial relationships of objects in view. We use the “what” stream when we are searching our cabinets for ingredients for a recipe, or when we must distinguish between vitamins and life-sustaining medications. Both of these streams have important connections across cortical and subcortical regions of the brain, such as the hippocampus which is responsible for memory. These digital cognitive exercises help patients practice both the where and what is being stored cognitive function. 

With both of our eyes, we see the world in words and pictures. Using both hemispheres of our brain, we combine images with language to derive meaning. This happens when we read newspapers, watch the news, read product labels, and decode the meanings of signs in an airport or on the road. Improving verbal and visual memory skills may help clients with cognitive impairments remember medication regimens, be able to locate themselves in space, and navigate a store to find needed groceries and items.

Spatial memory is the process by which information is stored and retrieved about our location in space as well as our relationships to objects within our environment. We use spatial memory when we are planning how to get to the grocery store, walk to a table in a restaurant without bumping into other guests, and make decisions about how we move so that we do not fall down. Practicing strategies to remember the location of oneself and objects in one’s environment can help clients maintain their safety and not lose important items such as medications.

Occurring in a network of brain regions including the parietal lobes, temporal lobes, basal ganglia and prefrontal cortices, visuospatial reasoning shapes how we interact and process the environment. Processing occurs in several schemes, which are still being researched to better understand specific mechanisms of how such information is integrated and processed.

This kind of reasoning is important for object recognition, manipulation and navigation of the environment.

Frontal and parietal cortical networks allow for processing of visual stimuli. Visual attention is needed for skills such as driving, where select objects within view should be attended to while distractions should be ignored.

This specific kind of attention can be damaged when lesions or damage occur along the frontoparietal network, causing people become easily distracted and overwhelmed when they have to attend to and filter visual stimuli in their environment to complete a task.

Response time or processing speed is a common measure in psychological research experiments. Clinically, processing speed is a measure of how quickly information is processed in order to achieve a desired behavior. In clinical populations, processing speed can be impacted when lesions, atrophy, and other forms of brain damage occur within cortical and subcortical regions of the brain. This can cause people to feel frustrated and act hastily in a way that is unfavorable to their safety. Working on this skill is vital to help your client be able to make quick, accurate, and precise decisions that can benefit them long-term.

Auditory processing is a complex cognitive process. Sound comes in through our ears, bounces off of our eardrums, and is relayed through nerve signals to our brain. These signals come in the forms of pitch and amplitude which activate our cerebellum. When these sounds are spoken word, these signals get relayed to our language network where sentences and words are extracted for meaning and processed in order for us to respond to. Providing cognitive remediation therapy that focuses on skills such as distinguishing relevant from irrelevant sounds, differentiating sounds from one another, and remembering what different people sound like may help your client process and remember auditory information for current and later use better.

We rely on words to communicate ideas, thoughts, and feelings.

The language center is concentrated on the left hemisphere, but research is growing to show the role of the right hemisphere in language processing. Fluency, word retrieval, and correct language production all rely on personal knowledge of semantics, grammar, and vocabulary