Impact of Intensive Computerized Cognitive Training

Launched by BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · Nov 8, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is looking at how intensive computerized cognitive training can help improve thinking skills in people who have had a brain injury or have mild cognitive issues. The researchers want to understand what factors can predict better outcomes for participants after they engage in this training. If you are between the ages of 25 and 65, have difficulties with attention or thinking due to a brain injury that happened at least a year ago, and can commit to a year-long program with some in-person visits, you might be eligible to participate.

Participants will complete training exercises on a computer and will need to visit Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston for assessments throughout the study. They'll also have to provide some samples and have a reliable person who can help answer questions about their daily functioning. This study is currently recruiting, so if you or someone you know fits the criteria and is interested, it could be a great opportunity to explore ways to enhance cognitive abilities.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Patient of the Mass General Brigham Health System with primary attention and executive functioning difficulties and/or a diagnosis of mild cognitive disorder or mild neurocognitive disorder (non-amnestic profile), due to an acquired brain injury (ABI) sustained at least 12 months prior to study contact.
• • Ages 25-65 years old
• • Proficiency in English
• • Willing and able to complete all study-related activities for 12 months, including travel to Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston) for four in-person assessment visits and two serum and saliva sample collections.
• • Access to a computer with webcam and stable internet.
• • A reliable study informant who can complete one questionnaire about participant's cognition/daily functioning, at four time points.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • History of alcohol or substance abuse, or dependence, within the past 2 years, as per DSM-5 criteria.
• • High likelihood of an underlying progressive neurodegenerative disorder.
• • Evidence of moderate to severe cognitive disorder, based on a score of 21 or less on the Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) (Tombaugh \& McIntyre, 1992).
• • Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 (Kroenke et al., 2010) Score ≥ 19, unless deemed by treating provider not to have active depression (e.g., adjustment disorder, grief reaction).
• • Active psychotic symptoms.
• • Severe sensory losses such that participants would unlikely be able to participate in the study training, even with substantial accommodations (self-report of extreme difficulty reading ordinary newspaper print or a performance-tested corrected vision test score of worse than 20/30).
• • Communication difficulties that prevent the participant from effectively participating in this highly interactive study protocol (based on interviewer's rating of a person's ability to be understood and to understand others).
• • Current participation in a pharmacological, or other interventional research trial.
• • Life expectancy of \< 2 years.