Optimising Cognitive Function in Patients With Chronic Pain

Cognitive difficulties often occur with chronic pain. The aim of this randomised controlled trial is to determine whether various aspects of cognitive function can be improved. An 8-week course of cognitive training via a web-based training program (3 times per week) will be contrasted with watching informative documentary videos (for the same length of time). Outcomes include subjective and objective measures of cognition, as well as self-report measures of mood and pain.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Chronic Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Computerised cognitive training; Behavioral: Video watching

Detailed Description

Rationale for project:

Cognitive difficulties may occur with chronic pain, potentially indicative of compromised functioning in frontal brain regions, which also results in greater difficulty controlling pain, with increased rumination and worry. Discovering a successful method for strengthening these neural systems may improve cognitive skills important for daily life and maximise therapeutic outcomes.

Research questions:

In people experiencing cognitive deficits due to their pain condition:

1. Can neurocognitive abilities be improved?
2. Can such improvements bring about better daily functioning in general?
3. If these training protocols improve cognition, will there also be an effect of pain reduction, i.e., in the extent to which pain interferes with a person's life?

Aim:

The overarching aim of this research is to determine whether cognitive function can be improved via a training protocol in people experiencing cognitive difficulties related to chronic pain.

Design:

This is a randomised controlled trial examining the effects of cognitive training compared with an active control. The investigators aim to enrol 40 participants with chronic pain in the study: 20 training, and 20 active control. This sample size was chosen based on a power analysis with moderate effect size, and is consistent with sample sizes in the existing cognitive training literature, though no similar study has so far been done in a chronic pain population. Both groups will complete their respective study activities 3 times per week, for 45 minutes each time, across 8 weeks. They will be assessed before completing the 8-week period, and again within a few days of completion.

Procedures:

40 participants will be recruited via the Caulfield Pain Management and Research Centre.

After deciding to participate and meeting all inclusion criteria, participants will be invited to attend their first on-site assessment session at Monash University, Clayton. The first assessment session will include an overview of the training program and demonstration of how to do the tasks, or an overview of the active control activities (as applicable). Both assessment sessions will involve detailed assessment of cognition, pain, and mood.

The cognitive training protocol will be run using pre-validated software that delivers brain training "games". The games are designed to be visually interesting and engaging, and are varied so that each session will comprise multiple different games, to avoid boredom. They begin with easy-to-follow instructions and demonstrations, then as the participant progresses, the difficulty is automatically increased in correspondence with their performance, to avoid ceiling or plateau effects. Participants will be assigned a program targeting multiple facets of cognition found to be compromised in chronic pain states, including divided attention, working memory, mentally planning a sequence of items to form a pattern or complete a puzzle, and response inhibition.

This software is accessible via the internet on desktop and laptop computers, or on tablet devices. All training sessions will be completed at home. The researchers will hold a master account, allowing them to log in and monitor participant progress and compliance with the training.

The active control group will be provided with a variety of videos to watch, the content of which will be in the style of documentaries on general interest topics such as nature, travel, culture, and history. These are also visually stimulating and engaging, but involve no increment in difficulty. They may provide distraction from pain and may be relaxing.

Throughout the protocol, the researchers will have weekly contact with participants by phone or video call. Keeping regular contact in this way will maintain engagement with the research team, help boost motivation and allow participants to express any issues they may be having with the protocol.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 39
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Australia
  • Melbourne, Australia
    • Monash University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Chronic pain condition
• Access to computer and internet

Exclusion Criteria:

• High dosages of opioid or benzodiazepine medication
• Currently receiving active allied health treatment
• Intellectual disability, traumatic brain injury, dementia, or other neurological disorders

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Single

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Computerised cognitive training; The cognitive training protocol will be run using pre-validated software, HappyNeuronPro, that delivers cognitive training games. The games are designed to be visually interesting and engaging, and are varied so that each session will comprise multiple different games, to avoid boredom. They begin with easy-to-follow instructions and demonstrations, then as the participant progresses, the difficulty is automatically increased in correspondence with their performance, to avoid ceiling or plateau effects. Participants will be assigned a program targeting multiple facets of cognition found to be compromised in chronic pain states, including divided attention, working memory, mentally planning a sequence of items to form a pattern or complete a puzzle, and response inhibition.	Behavioral: Computerised cognitive training
Active Comparator: Video watching; This group will be provided with a variety of videos to watch, the content of which will be in the style of documentaries on general interest topics such as nature, travel, culture, and history. Each video is followed by multiple-choice questions that participants will answer, to ensure attention was engaged. The videos are visually stimulating and engaging, but involve no increment in difficulty or requirement to improve skills. They may provide some distraction from pain and may be relaxing, interesting and informative.	Behavioral: Video watching

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Objective cognitive functioning	Composite of neuropsychological test scores	8 weeks
Subjective cognitive functioning	Self-report measures of cognition	8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pain	Pain intensity and interference from the Brief Pain Inventory	8 weeks
Mood and coping	Self-report measures of anxiety, depression, pain catastrophizing and pain self-efficacy	8 weeks
Heart rate variability	Electrophysiological measure	8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Monash University
• Collaborators: The Alfred; University of Sydney
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Melita Giummarra, PhD, Monash University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 1, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): February 1, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 7, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 7, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): May 12, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 23, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 21, 2017
• Last Verified: March 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Chronic Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: CF14/2985 - 2014001639