Introduction: The purpose of this study is to develop an auditory-cognitive training material which focuses on working memory and cognitive interference tasks that are suitable for older adults. Methods: The common Malay words were collected from 66 older adults and rated in terms of their familiarity by another 52 older adults using Likert scale. Of 566 different Malay words listed, 158 words were categorized as familiar. These familiar words were subsequently represented through drawing and voice recorded by a female native speaker of Malay language. Additionally, 84 simple questions in Malay language were also voice recorded to be used as cognitive distractor. Later, all materials were combined as a web-based computer aided training system. Results: There were 5 materials created: i) voice recorded of Bahasa Melayu words as stimuli; ii) voice recorded questions as cognitive interferences; iii) line drawing tied with words as response materials; iv) task algorithms; and v) system specification requirement. Conclusion: This study provides a comprehensive auditory cognitive training materials to be used in the newly developed auditory-cognitive training system (UKMTM).

Diaphragmatic breathing technique has been known for its beneficial effects on physical and psychological health. This technique has been used widely as an intervention for people with some psychological problems such as Alzheimer and ADHD. There is still very limited research conducted on the use of the technique on normal population. Hence, this paper reports a research that aim to examine the effect of diaphragmatic breathing technique on stress and memory performance of Tahfiz students or students who memorizes Quran. It was hypothesized that practicing diaphragmatic breathing technique would reduce the stress level and increase the memory performance of the students who memorize the Quran. The research methodology involves the use of a within-group experimental design on 50 IIUM undergraduate Tahfiz students. Students’ stress level is measured using Perceived Stress Scale while the memory performance is measured using Words Recall Test. Based on the analysis using paired-sample t-test, it has been found that practicing diaphragmatic breathing technique give positive impact on students’ stress level and memory performance. The findings from this research provides some evidences on the effects of using diaphragmatic breathing techniques for improving the psychological well-being of students who memorize the Quran.