Online Brain Training Intervention for Over 50s

November 5, 2019 updated by: King's College London

Optimising Engagement in an Online Brain Training Intervention for Adults Over 50

This study is an open trial investigating the long-term use of an online brain training programme for adults over 50. It will determine whether there is sustained benefit to cognition, and whether this group can be engaged in this form of intervention over a period of 12 months.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study will evaluate an optimised brain training programme to determine whether it is engaging for older adults and whether it results in improvement or maintenance of cognition over a 12 month period.

The Brain Training intervention

The programme is an updated version of the original 'Brain Test Britain' intervention, which was successfully evaluated in a large previous trial. It consists of a series of games or tests, completed on a computer. Each test is designed to target the participants' reasoning and problem-solving ability, for example by asking them to balance weights on a see-saw or select the 'odd-one-out' from a series of shapes. As the participants progress over the course of the study they will receive increasingly more challenging versions of each test, depending on their performance. The intervention has been updated from the original to improve engagement through improved visuals, more intelligent difficulty setting and a more engaging delivery platform.

The research delivery platform: PROTECT

A novel infrastructure resource has been developed at King's College London within the Maudsley Biomedical Research Unit for Dementia (BRU-D), which provides the opportunity to deliver the intervention to large numbers of older adults. The Platform for Research Online to investigate Cognition and Genetics in Ageing (PROTECT) is an online research tool. PROTECT is currently recruiting a cohort of over 10,000 adults over 50 who are cognitively healthy or have early cognitive impairment. Participants provide demographic and lifestyle information and will complete a battery of validated cognitive assessments annually. The focus of all research conducted through PROTECT is on the prevention of dementia and risk reduction. The optimised brain training intervention will be delivered through this platform. PROTECT has ethical approval from the NHS Research Ethics Service Committee for London Bridge (Ref: 13/LO/1578).

Study Design

Design: 12-month open online clinical trial Participants: 5000 adults over 50 Setting: Intervention delivered at home, online through the PROTECT website

Recruitment

Recruitment will be achieved through the PROTECT site through a national advertisement strategy. This will be accomplished through partnerships with the media and third sector. All participants registered on PROTECT will be invited to take part and provided with the information sheet. Participants will consent through the secure online procedure on the PROTECT site.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

4387

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

50 years to 110 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Over 50,
  • Have access to a computer and the internet
  • Registered as a participant on the PROTECT website

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Established diagnosis of 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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Brain training programme
Participants will complete a package of online brain training games focusing on reasoning and problem solving. The intervention will be accessed via a computer. There is no minimum or maximum dosage but participants will be recommended to complete the intervention five times a week. The package takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, depending on individual performance.
Behavioral: Brain training programme
An online package of brain training programmes

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in reasoning ability as measured by the Baddeley Grammatical Reasoning
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in visual memory and learning as measured by the Paired Associate Learning Test
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months
Change in reaction time as measured by the Simple and Choice Reaction Test
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months
Change in spatial working memory as measured by the Spatial Working Memory Test
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months
Change in ability to complete day-to-day activities as measured by the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale (part of the Home Care Minimum Dataset)
Time Frame: 12 months
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

King's College London

Collaborators

Imperial College London
Alzheimer's Society

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Anne Corbett, PhD, King's College London

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)

November 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 31, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

March 31, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 23, 2015

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 23, 2015

First Posted (Estimate)

September 24, 2015

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 7, 2019

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 5, 2019

Last Verified

October 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 188008

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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