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Completed

NCT Number: NCT01133418

Cognitive Training Trial

Currently, only two treatment modalities for pediatric attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are considered evidence-based: (1) pharmacological and (2) behavioral treatment. Recently, several studies have shown promising results suggesting efficacy for cognitive training interventions for children with ADHD. These interventions directly train cognitive function (i.e., attention, working memory) by having children practice cognitive skills using computerized tasks. In these studies, improvements related to the cognitive training intervention have been documented on neuropsychological tests, academic tasks, and parent ratings of children's ADHD behavior. Given the ubiquitous finding of increased reaction time (RT) variability among children with ADHD, the candidate worked with a group of developers to modify a cognitive training intervention to target RT variability. That is, train the children to be less variable in their responding. Initial clinical data from this intervention suggest that intervention exposure improves behavioral outcomes. However, an appropriate powered randomized clinical trial is necessary to experimentally demonstrate intervention efficacy.Sixty-four (64) children diagnosed with ADHD (either Predominantly Inattentive Type or Combined Type) will be randomly assigned to intervention or control conditions. Children in the intervention group will receive 8 weeks of the Computerized Progressive Attention Training (CPAT) intervention. Children in the control group will receive the CPAT intervention but there will be no progression in difficulty based on performance as in the intervention group. Children in both groups will be assessed pre-intervention and immediately after the 8-week training on neuropsychological, behavioral, and academic outcome measures. Hypothesis-driven data analyses will assess intervention efficacy.

Hypothesis #1: Children in the experimental group exposed to the CPAT intervention will show greater improvement from pre- to post-intervention on neuropsychological tests compared to children in the control group.

Hypothesis #2: Children in the experimental group exposed to the CPAT intervention will show greater improvement from pre- to post-intervention on parent and teacher behavioral ratings of ADHD behavior compared to children in the control group.

Hypothesis #3: Children in the experimental group exposed to the CPAT intervention will show greater improvement from pre- to post-intervention on academic outcomes compared to children in the control group.

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Key information

Conditions

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders Mental Disorders Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Age range

7 year–12 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Center for ADHD, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center

Cincinnati, Ohio, 45229, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Consent: The family must provide signature of informed consent by parents or legal guardians.
  • Age at time of Screening: 7 to 12 years of age, inclusive.
  • Gender: includes male and female children.
  • ADHD Diagnostic Status: ADHD patients must meet DSM-IV criteria for ADHD-PIT or ADHD-CT subtype. Section D.4 below describes in detail the diagnostic process for arriving at diagnosis.
  • Cognitive Functioning: IQ of greater than 80 as estimated by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence.
  • Learning Disability: Children must score above 75 on all three of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT) subtests (Reading, Spelling, Numerical Operations).
  • School: Children must be enrolled in a school setting from which teacher ratings can be obtained.

Exclusion criteria

  • Understanding Level. The patient and parent cannot understand or follow instructions given in the study.
  • History of Psychiatric Medications: Children must not have taken psychiatric medications within the past month. In addition, the family must indicate that they do not plan on placing their child on medication for any psychiatric condition during the course of the study.
  • Exclusionary Psychiatric Conditions: Children who meet diagnostic criteria on the K-SADS for OCD, any psychotic disorder, major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder will be excluded from participation.
  • Developmental Disabilities. Patients will be excluded if they are deemed to be significantly developmentally delayed or have a pervasive developmental disorder. Developmental delay will be operationally defined as an IQ score below 80. A pervasive developmental delay will be defined as a T score above 65 on the Autism Composite Scale of the PDD Behavior Inventory.

Treatment and study plan

Computerized Progressive Attention Training

Other

Four comprehensive training tasks were developed and programmed based on expansions and modifications of various tasks that have been extensively investigated in the attention literature and are known to reflect primary attentional functions. Each task is discussed in detail in the Research Methods (section D.6.b). Briefly, they included a Continuous Performance Task, a Conjunctive Search Task, an Orienting and Flanker Task, and a Global-Local Task. All of the tasks were modified extensively from their original neuropsychological design to make them entertaining and stimulating enough for children to enjoy. Each task began at a relatively simple level of difficulty and gradually increased in difficulty across the training as children demonstrated proficiency according to reductions in RT variability

Sham Comparator Cognitive Training

Other

Same tasks at Computerized Progressive Attention Training but the tasks do not progress in difficulty

Primary outcomes

  1. Total ADHD Symptom Score From Vanderbilt ADHD Parent Rating Scale

    Time frame: 2 months

    Total ADHD Symptom Score on the Parent Vanderbilt Rating Scales; range = 0-54; this score is computed by summing the 18 ADHD symptom items which are each rated on a 0-3 Likert scale (0="Never"; 1="Occasionally"; 2="Often"; 3="Very often"); higher scores indicate higher severity of ADHD symptoms.

  2. Clinical Global Impression - Improvement

    Time frame: 2 months

    Blinded ratings of clinical global impression - Improvement. Scale = 1 (Very Much Improved) - 7 (Very Much Worse) Lower scores represent more improvement.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Intra-individual Variability on Go/No-Go Task

    Time frame: 2 months

    Standard deviation of reaction times for correct responses to Go trials on a Go/No-Go Task

  2. Academic Improvement Measurement System - Web-based (AIMSWEB) Reading Score (Proportion Accurate)

    Time frame: 2 months

    Number of words read correctly divided by number of words read (range = 0-1.0) Higher values represent better reading accuracy

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati

Other

Collaborators

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Registry information

Official study title

Efficacy of a Cognitive Training Intervention for Children With ADHD

Important dates

Study start
2010
Primary completion
2014
Study completion
2016
First posted
May 28, 2010
Registry last updated
May 30, 2017

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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