Recruiting
Phase 1

Working Memory Training

Sponsor:

University of Toronto

Code:

NCT01657721

Conditions

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 35

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Cogmed Working Memory Training Program

Study Details

Brief summary:

The overall objective of the current study is to determine whether computerized Working Memory (WM) training will enhance WM capacity in college students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). There are also four additional objectives. The first is to investigate whether the program's efficacy is impacted by the duration of the daily training sessions. The second is to determine whether improvements in WM will generalize to secondary outcome tasks, such as inhibitory control and planning. The third objective is to examine whether WM training will also ameliorate ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity. The last objective is to investigate whether improvements will be maintained at a two month follow-up period. The investigators will also be assessing healthy control participants,who will not be receiving treatment, but will be used as a basis of comparison with the ADHD participants,

It is expected that the computerized WM training program will enhance WM capacity in college students with ADHD. In addition, it is believed that these increases in WM capacity will also lead to improvements in other executive functions. It is also hypothesized that WM training will lead to a reduction in ADHD symptomology. Lastly, these improvements should be maintained at three month follow-up.

Conditions

Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Study ID

NCT01657721

Start date

May, 2012

Status verified date

Aug, 2012

Completion date

Sep, 2014

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Sep, 2014

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 35

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Formal diagnosis of ADHD by a doctor or psychologist
  • Registered as a student at a post-secondary institution
  • Registered with Student Disability/Accessibility Services at post-secondary institution

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Major neurological dysfunction and psychosis
  • Current use of sedating or mood altering medication other than stimulants provided for ADHD
  • Motor or perceptual handicap that would prevent using the computer program.

Study Design

Enrollment

160 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

no intervention: Wait-list Control

Participants randomized to this group will not undergo The Cogmed Working Memory Training Program during the 5 week period, but will receive weekly phone calls from a member of the research team to review progress and advice on general time management, organization, and mnemonic strategies.

After a 5-week period, participants in this arm will have access to the working memory training.

experimental: 15 Minute Training

Participants will receive a low intensity version of The Cogmed Working Memory Training Program. This involves undergoing 25 training sessions for 15 minutes per day, 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Participants will also receive weekly phone calls from a CogMed Coach to review progress and adjust the training as needed.

experimental: 30 Minute Training

Participants will receive the standard-length version of The Cogmed Working Memory Training Program. This involves undergoing 25 training sessions for 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week for 5 weeks. Participants will also receive weekly phone calls from a CogMed Coach to review progress and adjust the training as needed.

Interventions

Cogmed Working Memory Training Program

The Cogmed Working Memory Training Program will be used as the experimental program because of preliminary evidence indicating its effectiveness in enhancing WM and reducing behavioural symptoms of inattention/hyperactivity in children. This software-based training program was designed to improve WM abilities, particularly in children with ADHD or severe attention problems. It includes a set of auditory verbal and visual-spatial WM tasks presented via computer. All tasks involve: maintenance of simultaneous mental representations of multiple stimuli, unique sequencing of stimulus order in each trial and progressive adaptation of difficulty level as a function of individual performance.

Primary outcome measure

  • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale: Digit Span subtest [ Time Frame: within 120 days ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE) at The University of Toronto

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5S1V6

Principal Investigator:

Rosemary Tannock, Ph.D.

More Information

Sponsor

University of Toronto

Last update posted

Aug 6, 2012

Last verified

Aug, 2012

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Toronto on 2012-08-06.