PhD candidate
Louisa did her BA in German as a foreign language. Even though she enjoyed teaching tremendously, she also wanted to learn more about (neuro-)linguistic research, which is why she did the ReMa Language & Cognition in Groningen. She was involved in the PhD projects "Learning to preserve" and "Language learning never gets old" as a research assistant and intern.For her MA thesis, Louisa explored the cognitive impact of language learning in older adulthood, using resting-state EEG as an indicator of neuroplasticity. She compared data from two intervention studies that varied in duration and intensity to address the central question: “How little is enough?” — aiming to identify the minimum effective dose of language training needed to induce measurable changes in brain function. Louisa is now a PhD candidate at the University of Bamberg and the University of Groningen.
Project description
In her PhD project, Louisa investigates how two distinct interventions affect cognitive functioning and well-being in older adults across a continuum of cognitive health. Her goal is to determine which type of intervention is most effective and feasible for older adults with different cognitive profiles — ranging from cognitively healthy individuals to those experiencing subjective cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment or early-stages of Alzheimer’s dementia.The study employs an extensive test battery, including questionnaires, behavioral tasks, and EEG measurements (resting-state and during a non-verbal Stroop task). Participants engage in one of two interventions: an English language course for beginners or a combined intervention with cognitively demanding board games as well as physical activity. The data collection for this project is done in Bamberg (Germany).
