Computer-based Cognitive Training for Individuals With Parkinson's Disease

Patients meeting criteria for MCI will be initially randomized to one of the 3 conditions. Participants will complete cognitive training exercises on their home or clinic-provided computers for 60 minutes per day, 5 days per week. Compliance and performance will be monitored on a weekly basis and at completion of the study. Outcome measures will be collected one week before initiation of the intervention and within one week completion of the intervention. Neuropsychological functioning, including tests of processing speed, attention, and executive functioning, will serve as primary outcome measures. Patient reported outcomes, including measures of overall QOL and disease-specific QOL, and support-person reported outcomes (if applicable), including measures of overall QOL and caregiver burden, will be secondary outcome measures. This pilot study promises to evaluate computer-based cognitive training in a novel population and expand access to cognitive rehabilitation services, and is designed to improve cognitive functioning and QOL among a wide range of individuals with PD.

Inclusion criteria

• Participants eligible for this study must speak English and have a confirmed medical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease and meet established criteria for MCI in PD (Litvan et al., 2012), defined as individuals with performances of approximately -1 to -2 standard deviations below the mean on at least two tests within five cognitive domains assessed in their clinical neuropsychological evaluations.

Exclusion criteria

• Exclusion criteria include diagnosis of PD dementia based on Movement Disorder Society Task Force criteria (Emre et al., 2007) and other PD-associated comorbid conditions (e.g., severe anxiety, depression, excessive daytime sleepiness, or psychosis) that significantly influence cognitive testing (Litvan et al., 2012).