Neurofeedback and Working Memory Training for Children and Adolescents With ADHD (KITE)

August 6, 2025 updated by: Sven Bölte, Karolinska Institutet

Does Neurofeedback and Working Memory Training Improve Core Symptoms of ADHD in Children and Adolescents? A Comparative, Randomized and Controlled Study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate if neurofeedback and working memory training improves core symptoms of ADHD in children and adolescents.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study investigates two types of Neurofeedback (NF), one well-established and well-researched protocol called Slow Cortical Potential NF (SCP), and a newer and less researched, yet popular among private clinicians, the so-called live z-score training (LZT). These methods are compared to working memory training (WMT) and a passive control condition, treatment-as-usual only (TAU). The active conditions (SCP/LZT/WMT) are delivered high frequent, with 5 sessions/week, for a total of 25 sessions.

Outcomes measures are taken at Preintervention and Postintervention, as well as at a 6-month follow-up assessment.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

202

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

  • Sweden
      • Stockholm, Sweden, 11330
        • Cap Bup-Kind

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

Ages Eligible for Study

5 years to 13 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Clinical AD/HD diagnose according to DSM-IV-TR and K-SADS interview, 9-17 years old, unmedicated or under stable medication with stimulants or corresponding since at least one month.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • IQ <70 (WISC-IV or WAIS-IV), clinically instable psychiatric state e.g. severe depression, OCD, self-injurious behaviour, bipolar disorder, severe somatic (neurologic) disease, very limited knowledge in the Swedish language.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: SCP training
Neurofeedback 1 (NF1) Slow Cortical Potential (SCP) training
Behavioral: SCP training
Active Comparator: Live Z-score training
Neurofeedback 2 (NF2) Live Z-score training
Behavioral: Live Z-score training
Active Comparator: WM training
Working Memory training (WMt)
Behavioral: WM training
No Intervention: Waiting-list
Treatment as usual only

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Conners 3 ADHD-index
Time Frame: Up to seven months

Presented below are the within-group differences from baseline to 6-month follow up, for the ADHD-index of the Conners-3.

Positive numbers indicate symptom improvements.

*The ADHD-index raw score can range from 0-20, with higher score indicating greater symptom severity. The Reliable Change Index (RCI) is 2.88.
Up to seven months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Karolinska Institutet

Collaborators

Region Stockholm
Stiftelsen Sunnerdahls Handikappfond
Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stockholm

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sven Bölte, Professor, Karolinska Institute, Competence Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (KIND)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

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)

August 1, 2013

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 1, 2019

Study Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 20, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 23, 2013

First Posted (Estimated)

April 26, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 7, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 6, 2025

Last Verified

August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • KITE

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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