Center for Advanced Intelligence Project

Cognitive Behavioral Assistive Technology Team is developing technologies to support the maintenance and improvement of cognitive functions through conversation. In this event, Prof. Hiroko H. Dodge from Harvard University, who conducts research on the effects of conversation on cognitive function, will share insights on randomized controlled trials involving remote conversations.

Date and Time: May 20, 2025: 13:30 – 16:30 (JST)
Venue: Online and Open Space at the RIKEN AIP Nihonbashi office
*Open Space is available to AIP researchers only

Program

13:30-14:30:
Speaker: Professor Hiroko H. Dodge : Massachusetts General Hospital
Title: The Internet-Based Conversational Engagement Trial (I-CONECT): Theoretical Framework and Latest Findings.
Abstract:
Social isolation is a risk factor for dementia. In the recently completed randomized controlled trial, I-CONECT (www.i-conect.org; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02871921), we investigated the impact of frequent conversational interactions—a key component of social interactions—on cognitive functions. We hypothesized that engaging in frequent conversations enhances compensatory neural activity and helps maintain cognitive function, a concept framed by Park et al. (2009, 2014) as “scaffolding,” similar to Stern’s (2002) cognitive reserve theory. To specifically target the benefits of social bridging separate from social bonding (Perry, 2012), we rotated interviewers each week. In the presentation, I will explain the theoretical framework, recruitment, intervention approach, and findings to date, which can serve as a foundation for future behavioral trials of this kind.
REFERENCES
Park, D. C., & Reuter-Lorenz, P. A. (2009). The Adaptive Brain: Aging and Neurocognitive Scaffolding. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 173–196
Reuter-Lorenz, P. A., & Park, D. C. (2014). How Does it STAC Up? Revisiting the Scaffolding Theory of Aging and Cognition. Neuropsychology Review, 24(3), 355–370.
Perry BL, McConnell WR, Peng S, Roth AR, Coleman M, Manchella M, Roessler M, Francis H, Sheean H, Apostolova LA. Social Networks and Cognitive Function: An Evaluation of Social Bridging and Bonding Mechanisms. Gerontologist. 2022 Jul 15;62(6):865-875. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnab112. PMID: 34338287; PMCID: PMC9290895.

14:30-15:30:
Speaker: Professor Mihoko Otake-Matsuura : RIKEN AIP
Title: A Robot Moderating Group Conversation for Cognitive Intervention to Healthy Older Adults
Abstract:
Embodied intelligence is demonstrated in conversation since thoughts and feelings are exchanged through visual, auditoryand motor functions. Multiple cognitive functions, such as memory, comprehension, reasoning, and executive functions, are utilized in conjunction with bodily functions. Based on these characteristics of conversation, we are developing technology to intervene in and help maintaining and improving the cognitive functions of older adults through conversation. In this talk, we demonstrate a robot moderating group conversation and describe the effects of group conversations among humans using a moderator robot on human cognitive functions.

15:30-16:00: Break

16:00-16:30:
Dialogue with Prof. Hiroko H. Dodge and Prof. Mihoko Otake-Matsuura Impact of Conversations on Cognitive Functions

Prof. Hiroko H. Dodge Profile:
Dr. Hiroko Dodge is a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Director of Research Analytics at the Interdisciplinary Brain Center, Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. Prior to joining Harvard University in 2022, she was a Professor of Neurology and Co-Associate Director of the NIH-Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center (ADC) at Oregon Health & Science University. From 2009 to 2019, she was concurrently an endowed Professor of Neurology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and served as Director of the Data Core at the Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center.
Her overarching research theme centers on validating epidemiological findings through clinical trials and translating these results into daily practices to improve population well-being. Her current work focuses on two main areas: she dedicates half of her time to developing and refining statistical methods for enhancing clinical trial designs, and the other half to conducting behavioral intervention trials. She has led several NIH-funded studies examining the impact of social interactions on brain health.

Dr. Mihoko Otake-Matsuura Profile:
Mihoko Otake-Matsuura is a Team Director (PI) of Cognitive Behavioral Assistive Technology Team, Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, RIKEN, Japan. She is concurrently the founding director of the NPO Fonobono Research Institute, which is a platform for citizen science, and Adjunct Professor of Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. She is one of the pioneers in the field of soft robotics and her thesis on “Gel Robots” was published as a monograph in Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics series. Her current research focuses on technology for cognitive health in super aged society where she successfully collected the world first evidence of cognitive intervention via conversation supported by robots. Her research interests include but not limited to: communication support system, human-robot interaction, brain-computer interface, AI and robotics for super aged society.