MRI and Neuropsychological Outcomes following a Functional Medicine Intervention with Cognitive Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): A Multiple Case Study. 

August 31, 2018 — The preliminary results of our MCI study were presented at the 2018 American Psychological Association Annual Conference in San Francisco.  Using a multiple case study design, we examined neural connectivity with fMRI, executive function, memory, attention, reasoning, everyday functioning, and overall IQ score for 5 clients with varying levels of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) before the intervention, after 12 weeks on functional medicine (FM) protocols (grain-free/sugar-free diet, nutritional supplements, aerobic activity, optimized sleep & stress reduction) without cognitive training, and again following the addition and completion of 72 hours of cognitive training. In all five cases, improvement in both cognitive and life skills was achieved with a functional medicine protocol that included cognitive training. Normalization of the Default Mode Network (DMN) was evident along with the appearance of anti-correlations and decreased hyperconnectivity. A multidisciplinary approach to slowing or reversing cognitive decline appears to be promising. Link to presentation

Reference: Moore, A.L., James, R., Carpenter, D., Miller, T., & Ledbetter, C. (2018). MRI and Neuropsychological Outcomes following a Functional Medicine Intervention with Cognitive Training in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI): A Multiple Case Study. Presentation at American Psychological Association Annual Convention, August 2018, San Francisco, CA.