Neurocognitive Exercise Program for Children With Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder

January 16, 2021 updated by: Ezgi Karagoz Tanigor M.D., Dokuz Eylul University

Investigation of the Effects of Neurocognitive Exercise Program in Symptom Severity and Executive Functions in Children With Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder

The effects of Neurocognitive Exercise Program (NEP) on ADHD symptoms and executive functions in children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will be investigated using The Conners parent rating scale-revised short (CPRS-RS), Stroop Test, Wisconsin test and Y-Balance test.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The effects of Neurocognitive Exercise Program (NEP) on ADHD symptoms and executive functions in children with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) will be investigated.

Material and Methods: Twenty-nine boys (14 ADHD, 15 Healthy Controls) between 7 and 13 years of age will be recruited in the study and The Conners parent rating scale-revised short (CPRS-RS), Stroop Test, Wisconsin test and Y-Balance test will be performed . All tests and measurements will be performed for ADHD group before NEP, after NEP, 6 months and 12 months. The control group will be evaluated only once.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

14

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

  • Turkey
    • Narlıdere
      • İzmir, Narlıdere, Turkey, 35320
        • Dokuz Eylul University

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

7 years to 13 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children between 7-13 years old
  • Diagnosis of ADHD given by an experienced child psychiatrist based on the 5th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of anxiety,
  • Presence of depression,
  • Presence of learning disability,
  • Presence of intellectual disability,
  • Presence of visual impairment,
  • Presence of musculoskeletal or neurological disorders that may directly affect motor skill and cognition

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Neurocognitive Exercise Program Group
The group received NEP for 10 weeks, one hour per week conducted by the same physiotherapist with 6 years of experience in this field. Children with ADHD were given home exercises for the other six days of the week without a NEP session. Home exercises were followed with an exercise diary under the control of children's parents. The home exercise program consisted of visual-motor and auditory-motor coordination tasks (daily 15 min).
Other: Neurocognitive Exercise Program
Neurocognitive Exercise Program (NEP) is defined as a multimodal exercise program including different motor coordination exercises and cognitive tasks. Exercise progression is performed from easy to difficult, and consist of simple and complex tasks. Different sports equipment (such as different sizes of balls, racket, tulle, pilates ball, eye band, rope, etc.) is used in motor coordination exercises where multiple extremities can be used in NEP. These materials are used during different exercises including cross-limb movements, throwing, jumping, walking, involving different cognitive tasks. The cognitive task used and the degree of difficulty of the task are provided by different visual (colored cards, numbered cards, gestures, etc.) or auditory (keywords, ring signal, etc.) signs. For example, showing a red card might indicate throwing a ball with the left hand, while showing a blue card indicates throwing a ball with the right hand and walking forward

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Stroop color-word test
Time Frame: 12 months
The Stroop Color-Word Test is a color-word task assessing executive function involving processing speed, concentration, and attention (Stroop, 1935). Stroop Test was applied in five sections. These sections and related cards are as follows in their application order: (1) The card with the color names printed in black (1st card), (2) the card with the color names printed in different colors (2nd card), (3) the card with the colored printed circles (3rd card), (4) in the card with neutral words without the color name (4th Card), (5) The section where the colors of the words in the 2nd Card are spelled, with the names of colors printed in different colors. Stroop test gives information about many cognitive processes such as selective attention, focused attention, response inhibition, interference control, and information processing speed.
12 months
Conners parent rating scale-revised short (CPRS-RS)
Time Frame: 12 months
CPRS-RS is a 27-item scale that determines the severity of ADHD. The items consist of three sub-scales (Disagree-QA, Cognitive Problems-Inattention CP-I, Hyperactivity-HI) and an auxiliary scale (ADHD Index). The questions are answered by the parents on a four-point Likert scale. "Never", "rarely", "often" and "always" options are scored as "0", "1", "2" and "3" respectively
12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)
Time Frame: 12 months
The WCST is a test used for executive function assessment, which includes measurements related to strategic planning, updating, shift cognitive set, modulating impulsive responding, and perseveration (Greve et al., 2005). The computer version of the test was used in this study (Heaton, 2008). The WCST included four stimulus cards and 128 response cards. Respondents were required to sort response cards based on one of three characteristics (i.e., color, form, and number) of the four stimulus cards. The computer gives 'correct' or 'wrong' feedback after each response. The ranking category changes when the participant selects the appropriate card for 10 cards. The test is completed after the participant has completed 6 categories or at the end of 128 response cards.
12 months
Y-Balance test
Time Frame: 12 months
Y-Balance Test (YBT) was used to evaluate the dynamic balance of children. YBT was performed in three directions (anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral). The test protocol was applied based on the learning effect (Hertel et al., 2000). After measuring the leg length (anterior superior iliac spine to the medial malleolus) of the children, the average of three measurements taken after 6 attempts in both directions with both feet was taken as the test score. [YBT normalized value: (Average of 3 reach distances) / limb length x 100; YBT composite score: (Anterior + Posteromedial + Posterolateral) / (3 x Limb Length) x100)].
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Dokuz Eylul University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Aylin Ozbek, MD, Dokuz Eylul University

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

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)

January 8, 2018

Primary Completion (Actual)

January 8, 2020

Study Completion (Actual)

January 8, 2020

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 11, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 11, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

January 13, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 20, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 16, 2021

Last Verified

January 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ADHD-NEP

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

No

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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