"Team ACTIVE" has a game plan designed to find ways of improving and extending memory, reasoning and speed of processing skills in elders 65 years of age and older. The research team includes (left to right): Frederick Unverzagt, co-investigator and assistant professor of psychiatry in the IU School of Medicine; Kathy Johnson, co-investigator and associate professor of psychology at IUPUI; Dr. David Smith, principal investigator and professor of medicine, Division of General and Geriatric Medicine in the IU School of Medicine; and Brenda Hudson, project coordinator.

Headed by Dr. David Smith, ACTIVE is a project aimed at determining if training elderly in skills of memory, reasoning and/or speed of processing will improve their abilities in daily functioning. Which, of course, improves quality of life, because if you can write your own checks, fix your own meals, monitor your own medicine and drive your car safely–well, you’re on your own.

According to Smith, professor of medicine in the Division of General and Geriatric Medicine at the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and senior investigator at the Regenstrief Institute for Health Care, also at IUPUI, past studies suggest that losses in short-term memory and complex thinking skills which occur naturally as we age can be reduced with training.

"Normal loss of cognitive function with aging varies greatly among individuals," said Smith. "Correlational studies suggest that memory for certain tasks may be at its peak in the early 20s. Generally, many persons experience some change after age 70. With this project, we hope to determine if training will improve or prevent the loss with aging of everyday functioning."

ACTIVE is part of a $16 million national study funded by the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute on Nursing Research. Indianapolis is one of six cities involved. Enrollment for the project began in 1998 and ended in 1999, with a two-year follow up to be completed in January 2002.

The project is constructed using three training groups, one each in the areas of memory, reasoning and speed of processing. There is also a fourth, a control group of participants that receives no training. Participants are trained in small groups over ten, one-hour sessions, using interviews, pencils, paper and computers.

Any long-term advice about staying young in heart and mind, no matter what your age?

"Stay active and engaged," Smith said, and what should be to no one’s surprise, added, "Proper nutrition, physical exercise and rest are important."

And for those already secretly uncomfortable because they sometimes don’t recall what they had for dinner the night before?

Eliminate distraction and rehearse or repeat information," advised the good doctor. "Using mnemonics, notes, lists and calendars are also helpful."