This is a USC Program?

Yes, this is an adult educational program, offered through the Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC, University of Southern California.  

Participants will receive a certification of completion, but it is not offered for USC credit.

Who is the target audience for this course? 

• Adults 35 plus years old. 
• Family members and friends of older adults in residential care who may be thinking about brain health. 
• Participants may join from different geographic locations.
• The course is designed for adults interested in healthy cognitive aging, memory, and the science of brain health.
• It is not a caregiver-training, dementia-treatment, or clinical program.
• No prior background in neuroscience or medicine is required.

What is the course format? 

• Six weekly sessions.
• Approximately 80 minutes per session.
• Live online via Zoom, allowing participation from multiple locations.
• Assistance can be provided for participants who are new to Zoom.
• No cost to invited participants during the pilot.
• Sessions include educational presentation, brief memory-strategy practice, optional private reflection, and group discussion.

Can you tell us about the course approach?

The course is academically grounded but designed to be accessible and engaging. A recurring question throughout the program is: “What does the evidence suggest?”

Participants will explore what current research and major international recommendations suggest about brain health and potentially modifiable dementia risk factors, while also learning how to distinguish different types and strengths of scientific evidence.

The scientific framework draws primarily on the 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention, and care; the 2026 World Health Organization guideline on risk reduction of cognitive decline and dementia; and major multidomain lifestyle clinical trials, including FINGER and U.S. POINTER studies.

Recurring elements in each session

Each week we will: 

• Review of modifiable lifestyle and brain-health factors based on research studies and recommendations.
• A segment exploring emerging pathways in brain health that has a substantial area of scientific study.
• A brief evidence-informed memory strategy with a short practice exercise.
• Optional private reflection.
• Evidence-focused group discussion.

Is there a cost to attend the course?

The cost is $150 for 6 sessions over six weeks. We will meet once per week on Zoom for an hour and a half. 

We are currently conducting a pilot evaluation

If you would like to be in the pilot class, we will ask you for feedback.  The pilot would include a brief three-question weekly evaluation of pace, content, and usefulness, together with before- and after-course evaluations. The goal is to understand who participated, what participants hoped to learn, what they found valuable, and what aspects of the course could be refined before the broader university offering. The evaluation is programmatic and educational. It does not include cognitive testing, medical screening, diagnosis, individualized dementia-risk estimation, or treatment recommendations.  There is no cost to attend the pilot classes.

Educational boundaries and limitations to the course?

The course provides general education only. It does not provide individualized medical advice, cognitive assessment, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, or behavior-change coaching. Participants are encouraged to discuss personal medical questions with their own health-care professionals.

The program is designed for adults participating in a general brain-health and healthy-aging educational context. It is not designed as a clinical or therapeutic program for individuals with mild cognitive impairment or dementia, nor is it intended to substitute for medical evaluation or care.  Enrollment in this educational program does not establish a patient–provider relationship with Keck Medicine of USC or make a participant a patient of Keck Medicine of USC.

Who is the Course Director?

Tara Rose, PhD
Instructor of Clinical Neurology
Department of Neurology, Keck School of Medicine of USC

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, CA 90033 

trose@usc.edu

Dr. Rose’s work includes brain-health education, memory, and lifestyle-related approaches to cognitive aging, with interests in music and emerging approaches to dementia-risk reduction. She developed the USC Brain Health and Memory Training Educational Program to translate current research into an accessible educational experience for the community.