123 Clinical Trials for Various Conditions
The study aims to test whether attention training (attention bias modification or attention control training) reduces distress or COVID-19 related anxiety compared to a neutral condition.
The goal of this interventional study is to test the efficacy of combined mindfulness meditation training and cognitive training on brain function and cognition in healthy older adults. Participants will undergo cognitive and neuroimaging (MRI and fNIRS) assessments before and after an 8-week (\~20 hours) training intervention. The intervention will consist of at-home mindfulness meditation followed by playing a cognitive game on a provided tablet. The findings will be compared to an existing data from older adults who trained on the cognitive game only (NCT03988829; Arms 1 and 2).
The proposed study accelerates the translational aspect of neurofeedback-based attention training using novel technologies, algorithms, and neuromarkers. The presented brain training intervention and approaches will not only be applicable to attention remedy in patients with attention deficits but also can be applied to treatment of other neurocognitive (mental) disorders such as anxiety, depression, and addiction.
The hypersensitivity of fibromyalgia is associated with abnormal pain modulation within the CNS, but not with peripheral or central sensitization. Many brain areas that contribute to modulation of pain are known, but their testing is complex and expensive. Quantitative sensory testing is easier to perform and repeatable. Therefore, it will be used to evaluate the effects of Breathing Attention Training (BAT) on the hypersensitivity of FM participants. BAT is a form of mindfulness meditation shown to decrease FM symptoms and possibly pain sensitivity. We hypothesize that pain modulation of chronic pain patients is improved by BAT.
Poor emotion recognition has been associated with poor quality of interpersonal relationships, loss of employment, behavioral problems, reduced social reintegration, social isolation and even suicide. Deficits in emotion recognition are common in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but these deficits have not been well studied in Veterans with both mild TBI (mTBI) and PTSD. Currently there are no interventions for emotion recognition in Veterans with mTBI and PTSD, and interventions for severe TBI have lacked training of both facial and vocal emotion recognition. In a preliminary study of an innovative combination of facial and vocal modalities, a multimodal affect recognition training (MMART) showed promise but lacked attention training that is an essential component in recognizing emotions in our daily lives. Given the need to improve relationships and productivity in Veterans with mTBI and PTSD, a study is needed to determine the effectiveness of a MMART combined with attention training.
This pilot study will evaluate the cognitive and behavioral outcomes of using a novel, adaptive attention training in pediatric cancer survivors.
The overarching goal of this study is to demonstrate the efficacy, feasibility, and acceptability of Mindful Attention Training (MAT), a novel mindfulness-based intervention that is specifically developed for firefighters. This project is designed to improve the health of firefighters, an integral, essential component of our national and international communities. Moreover, the study aims to promote health service psychologists by enhancing our contributions to the mental healthcare of firefighters, an understudied and underserved segment of the population by virtue of their service to our communities. This study therefore has significant potential to identify, develop, and promote an effective model of quality, evidence-based mental health promotion and illness prevention by integrating health service psychology into the fire service.
The purpose of this research study is to see if breathing and attention training (BAT) treatments improve pain symptoms and well-being in people who have chronic low back pain (cLBP). For this breathing intervention, you will be randomly assigned to either standard or focused BAT. The standard BAT includes instructions on deep breathing and relaxation. The focused BAT is similar to the standard BAT in most ways but includes extra instructions to help you focus and alter your breathing patterns.
A recently completed study suggested that processing speed and attention (PS/A) oriented cognitive training (VSOP) produced robust effect on PS/A and working memory, but not in cognitive control or episodic memory, and long-term effects were overall modest. The proposed R01 renewal proposes to identify additional attributes to further enhance transferred and long-term effects of PS/A training in older adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by addressing adaptation capacity that underpins adaptive learning and neuroplasticity. The goal of the stage II double-blinded randomized trial is to test whether adding resonance frequency breathing (RFB) training to VSOP will strengthen multiple contributors to adaptation capacity, particularly the central and peripheral pathways of autonomic nervous system (ANS) flexibility, which will strengthen VSOP training effect on cognitive and brain function and slow the progress of dementia in MCI. The central hypothesis is that strengthening adaptation capacity, via improving autonomic nervous system (ANS) flexibility, will enhance neuroplasticity and slow progress of dementia in MCI, since adaptation capacity is critical for neuroplasticity of VSOP, but compromised in neurodegenerative process. Older adults with MCI (n = 114) will be randomly assigned to an 8-week combined intervention (RFB+VSOP), VSOP with guided imagery relaxation (IR) control, and a waitlist IR control, with periodical booster training sessions at follow-ups. Mechanistic and distal outcomes include ANS flexibility and multiple markers of dementia progress. Data will be collected across a 14-month period. The two primary aims are to examine long-term effects of the combined intervention on ANS flexibility (Aim 1), as well as the cognitive, behavioral, and functional capacity (Aim 2). The exploratory aim will be to determine the preliminary long-term effect of the combined intervention on neurodegeneration. This can be a reasonable renewal plan from the completed study, aiming to identify additional attributes to further enhance transferred and long-term effects of cognitive training in MCI. This will be among the first randomized controlled trials to examine a novel, combined intervention targeting adaptation capacity in MCI, with an ultimate goal for slowing neurodegeneration. In addition, research on how to monitor adherence - the extent to which VSOP training is delivered and followed as intended - has been conceptually and methodologically limited. Robust monitoring of adherence to cognitive training requires valid assessment of effective engagement. Here, we apply our well-supported, novel framework of mental fatigability for measuring effective engagement in cognitive training. Mental fatigability, the failure to remain engaged in tasks requiring sustained mental effort, can be captured via measures of self-reported disengagement, increase in reaction time during tasks, and facial expression of negative valence/low arousal. These markers of disengagement relate to ventromedial prefrontal cortex dysfunction. We will apply this framework to advance understanding of the underpinnings of adherence to VSOP training by monitoring the extent of effective engagement while using the training platform.
The purpose of this study is to study the effects of attention training interventions on symptoms and brain function in major depressive disorder.
The goal of this study is to evaluate a new method that may influence attention, cravings and substance use called attention training, which will be delivered on a smartphone through an application (app). The study team would like to know what participants think of this new method and to determine if research involving this app is feasible. Eligible participants will use the app for a period of two weeks and attend a total of 4 appointments at our study location.
This study is a validation study to document the acceptability of the Tonic and Phasic Alertness Training (TAPAT) program in older adults with chronic late-life insomnia. The goal of this study is to employ a computerized attention-training program, TAPAT, designed for chronic late-life insomnia in a remote, randomized, controlled trial to assess feasibility and initial efficacy in this population.
The proposed SBIR Phase I study tests the feasibility of PATH neurotraining for improving cognitive skills in older adults and, potentially, forestalling or protecting against cognitive decline and dementia. The feasibility of PATH neurotraining will be evaluated by comparing it with another cognitive training program, Brain HQ's Target Tracker, and ascertaining the relative advantage(s) of PATH neurotraining for enhancing cognition in older adults between 55 and 75 years of age whose cognition is either in the age-normative range or in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) range of standardized psychometric measures. MEG/MRI source imaging will be used on 12 of the PATH group participants to determine whether the behavioral results are verified by improvements in the dorsal, attention, and executive control networks.
This project will evaluate the neuro-cognitive outcomes of a novel, adaptive attention training in a healthy adolescent population.
This is a multi-site study to examine error-related brain activity (i.e., the error-related negativity) and anxiety symptoms in 11 to 14 year-olds (N=600) at two time points separated by two years. The study examines the degree to which error-related negativity can predict anxiety prospectively over two years, and whether a computerized game that alters attention to threat can alter error-related negativity and trajectories of anxiety.
This study aims to test the efficacy and feasibility of administering a computerized attention training program targeting clinical levels of anxiety in Latino youth between the ages of 8-17. 52 youth from Imperial County, a rural and predominantly Latino region, will be randomized to receive either 1) a 12-session attention modification program (AMP) or 2) an attention condition program (non-active treatment). Clinical assessment of symptom severity will be conducted before, during, and after treatment. We hypothesize that at the end of treatment, children who receive the active intervention (AMP) will show (1) decreased attention bias to anxiety-related triggers using an independent measure of attention bias to assess change and (b) reduced anxiety severity. We also hypothesize that this study will be feasible, tolerable, acceptable, and safe in this underserved sample of Latino youth. This study is an initial step towards demonstrating the feasibility of implementing a novel computerized attention training program in anxiety in underserved community samples.
This study is a validation study to document the acceptability of the Tonic and Phasic Alertness Training (TAPAT) training program in older adults with chronic late-life insomnia. The goal of this study is to employ a computerized attention-training program, TAPAT, designed for chronic late-life insomnia in a randomized, controlled trial to assess feasibility and initial efficacy in this population.
The investigators will perform a feasibility/pilot trial of two non-pharmacological interventions for ADHD in college students.
This study evaluates the efficacy of the Neuro+ Attention Training System (Neuro+) in improving attention skills in children. Half of participants will receive the Neuro+ intervention for 10 weeks, while the other half will continue treatment as usual (TAU) for the same period. We expect those receiving the Neuro+ intervention to see significant improvements in ADHD symptoms relative to the TAU controls.
Healthy aging is associated with a decline in multiple cognitive domains, as well as motor control function. The long-term consequences of cognitive and functional impairment resulting from age-related cognitive decline are well documented in the scientific and clinical literature, with significant evidence of related problems with independent functional abilities. This study aims to understand how the experimental computer program can affect cognition and attention in participants with age-related cognitive decline.
Voluntary and involuntary attention processes are thought to play an important role in the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders including OCD. Individuals with OCD pay greater attention to threat information related to their illness and have difficulty shifting their attention from such triggers. Studies suggest that a change in attention bias may lead to a change in anxiety vulnerability. However, few studies have directly examined the causal role of attention bias in the maintenance of anxiety underlying OCD and whether modification of such biases may reduce pathological anxiety symptoms particularly in children. In this proposal, we aim to translate basic findings from research on cognitive biases in anxiety into a novel computerized intervention for child Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The treatment is designed to target a basic cognitive vulnerability in OCD, namely the selective processing of threatening OCD-related information. 52 children with OCD will be randomly assigned to either a 12-session attention modification program (AMP) or an attention control condition (ACC). Clinical assessment of symptom severity along with a brief neurocognitive battery will be conducted before and after treatment. We hypothesize that children in the AMP group at end of treatment will show (1) decreased attention bias to OCD-related triggers using an independent measure of attention bias to assess change and (b) reduced OCD severity. This study is an initial step towards demonstrating the feasibility and efficacy of a novel computerized attention training program for OCD that ultimately may prove to be a highly transportable and accessible intervention for this childhood psychiatric disorder. Furthermore, the project will also examine neurocognitive performance before and after attention training to elucidate possible predictors and mechanisms of treatment response.
The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of attention training using a portable electronic device for opioid-dependent cocaine-users stabilized on methadone.
Pediatric Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a chronic, impairing condition that accrues significant concurrent and long-term risk to affected youth. Although empirically supported psychosocial and pharmacological treatments for OCD exist, many children and their families are not able to adequately access these treatments or derive only partial benefit from them. Such findings highlight the importance of developing more effective treatment options which have the potential to be widely accessible to OCD youth. The investigators are proposing to test a computerized attention modification program, AMP, in six youth with OCD in an open case series to gather information regarding protocol acceptability, feasibility and preliminary efficacy. This phase includes the development and refinement of stimuli selection procedures, behavior avoidance task, EEG protocol, and AMP parameters for use with children. Following ascertainment of study eligibility, participants will undergo a baseline assessment consisting of a clinical interview, neurocognitive assessments, EEG, attention bias assessment, and self report questionnaires. Study participants will then receive 12 sessions of AMP treatment over the course of three weeks. All youngsters and their families will be reassessed at treatment endpoint (week 4). Participation will take a total of about 24 hours over the course of six weeks. Participants who are treatment responders may be asked to return approximately 3 months after completing treatment for a follow-up assessment. Preliminary hypotheses: 1) AMP will be acceptable to youth and families and feasible to administer; 2) Youth receiving AMP will demonstrate decreases in threat bias and OCD symptom severity.
Problems with attention are a common and debilitating consequence of brain injury. Studies show that poor attention is the number one predictor of poor cognitive functioning one year post-injury. This is due to the fact that attention is a necessary component of more complex cognitive functions such as learning \& memory, multi-tasking and problem solving. In many cases, individuals may exhibit problems with spatial attention known as 'hemi-spatial neglect syndrome' or simply 'neglect'. Many studies now show that the processing machinery of the brain is plastic and remodeled throughout life by learning and experience, enabling the strengthening of cognitive skills or abilities. The investigators own research has shown that brief, daily computerized cognitive training that is sufficiently challenging, goal-directed and adaptive enables intact brain structures to restore balance in attention and compensate for disruptions in cognitive functioning.
This project will explore the effect of Cognitively-Based Compassion Training or mindfulness training on behavior and saliva stress hormones in elementary school-age children.
This study examines the efficacy of two computer-based attention training systems, one with and one without neurofeedback. The training systems intend to help children learn to focus and attend more effectively.
The purpose of this study is to understand whether attention training is effective in moderating mind wandering.
This study examines the efficacy of two computer-based training systems to teach children with ADHD to attend more effectively.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) has high prelevance (up to 8.5%; Roy-Byrne \& Wagner, 2004) and leads to functional impairment (Wittchen et al., 2002; Ballenger et al., 2001). Researchers have demonstrated a relationship between attention bias to threatening information and GAD. However, this knowledge has not yet been translated into effective treatments. The goal of this project is develop and test a new computerized treatment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder.
The present study is a group randomized trial assessing the impact of mindfulness and yoga training on the health, performance, and well-being of soldiers in Basic Combat Training (BCT). Randomization occurred at the platoon level, and platoons received either a combined mindfulness and yoga regimen or training as usual.