Cognitive Training to Promote Brain Health: Implementation and Engagement

January 24, 2018 updated by: Rogerio Panizzutti, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
Cognition encompasses memory, attention, language and other brain capacities that are necessary for good quality of life and independence. Age-related cognitive decline starts at the third decade of life and in some cases can start to impact daily functioning in the late forties. Dementia is the most devastating consequence associated with age-related cognitive decline. Recent studies indicate that improving cognition by means of intensive computerized brain training can mitigate some aspects of agerelated cognitive decline, and may even have a role in preventing or delaying dementia onset. Critically, the capacity of a given individual to improve their cognitive performance after training is fundamentally related to engagement with the exercises. Currently, little is known about how to apply intensive computerized cognitive training effectively in the health system, ensuring engagement and best progress. This project aims to tackle this challenge by developing, applying and testing personalized approaches to implement cognitive training in daily life of older adults that were recently evaluated at Memory Clinics and their care partners. The community readiness approach will be implemented using semi-structured interviews, conducted with subjects that may be interested in cognitive training, key informant, and key stakeholders. Using this information, the investigators will design an individualized training program and follow up its application in a feasibility trial. Twenty participants, recently evaluated at different Memory Clinics in Ireland, will be recruited, interviewed and invited to engage, over the ensuing 2 to 3 months, in computerized cognitive training. Subjects will be assessed after completion of the intervention for training adherence and individual gains on the computerized exercises. In order to gain insight about regional specificities of the approach the investigators will perform a parallel project using the same methodology in Brazil. This project is expected to inform the future implementation of cognitive training in public health policies for older adults.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Unknown

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
50

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Rogerio A Panizzutti, M.D., Ph.D.
  • Phone Number: +552139386390
  • Email: rogerio@icb.ufrj.br

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Being evaluated at a memory clinic in the last year, or be the care partner of a person evaluated at a memory clinic
  • Adequate visual and auditory acuity to allow practice on the computerized training exercises
  • Physical ability sufficient to allow performance of the computerized training exercises
  • Provide signed and dated informed consent form.
  • Willing to comply with all study procedures and be available for the duration of the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any medical condition that precludes performing the computerized training exercises
  • Advanced dementia.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Cognitive training
Behavioral: Computerized cognitive training
Posit Science Inc. will supply the software for the computerized cognitive training through the platform BrainHQ, which is available on line. The training program consists of a set of computerized exercises designed to improve the speed and accuracy of sensory information processing while engaging neuromodulatory systems involved in attention and reward. The rationale is that, in order to understand and remember information, the brain must first generate precise and reliable neurological responses that represent the sensory stimuli. These exercises continuously adjust the difficulty level to user performance to maintain an approximately 85% rate of correct responses. Trials with correct responses are rewarded with points and animations. The goal is to increase the effectiveness with which these stimuli engage and drive plastic changes in brain systems. Engagement is monitored by electronic data upload following each training session.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Engagement
Time Frame: 3 months
will be defined as a continuous variable (number of hours of training completed by the participant).
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Individual gains on the computerized exercises
Time Frame: 3 months
The computerized cognitive training platform, called BrainHQ, provided by Posit Science Inc, provides one measure of the individual gains on the computerized exercises with training.
3 months
Quantitative measure of motivation with the computerized training exercise
Time Frame: 3 months
Motivation will be assessed by the quantitative score provided by the Adapted Ultrech Engagement Scale - UWES. The Utrecht Engagement Scale has 17 items that are scored on a 7-point Likert scale indicating the frequency with which engagement at a given activity happens in the situations described in each item (0 indicates "never" and 6 "always"). The factors Vigor and Concentration have six items each and the factor Dedication has 5 items. The final score of the Engagement corresponds to the sum of the scores on the three factors.
3 months
Qualitative motivation with the computerized training exercise
Time Frame: 3 months
Qualitative motivation will be assessed using semi-structured interview.
3 months
Training adherence (dichotomic variable)
Time Frame: 3 months
Training adherence will be defined as training more than 10 hours
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Dublin, Trinity College
Global Brain health Institute

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
January 12, 2018

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2019

Study Completion (Anticipated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 12, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 22, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 24, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 26, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 24, 2018

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
January 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • GBHI_ALZ-18-544160

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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