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Completed

NCT Number: NCT03661190

Online Grammatical Reasoning Training for Older Adults

The START study will investigate the impact of playing a Grammatical Reasoning brain training task on overall brain function (cognition) and day-to-day function in people over 50.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy Aging

Age range

50 year–100 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of Exeter Medical School

Exeter, EX1 2LU, United Kingdom

About this study

The study builds on existing work that has shown very promising results with brain training approaches in older adults. There is good evidence that playing brain training games leads to improvements in brain functions including memory and reasoning. There is also a suggestion that regular involvement in brain training games might help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia later in life. It appears that reasoning, or problem-solving, is particularly important as it is one of the first abilities to decline with age. This study will use this evidence to target reasoning in a specific brain training task. It will also explore the potential role of genetic factors in how people perform in the task.

The study will compare the impact of a Grammatical Reasoning Task (START) with a control task consisting of simple picture-matching. Over 7000 participants will be randomly allocated to either START or the control and will be asked to play the task as often as they wish for a period of six weeks. Both tasks will be delivered entirely online so people will access the study from home on their computers. This will be achieved through our dedicated online research platform, PROTECT, which hosts a cohort of over 20,000 older adults who have provided DNA samples as part of a longitudinal study.

This study will measure the impact of the training on cognition and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living. Assessments will be completed online at baseline, two/six weeks and six months. Overall, this study aims to generate exciting new data about how brain training could be included in guidance on healthy ageing

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Adults over 50
  • Access to a computer with a keyboard and the internet
  • Participant registered on the PROTECT study

Exclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of dementia

Treatment and study plan

Grammatical Reasoning

Other

START measures the ability to determine the relationships among different shape combinations which are assigned to grammatical statements about them which can be either correct or incorrect. It is a measure of attention, working memory and executive control.

Other names: START

Card Pairs

Other

A basic picture-matching task.

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in Executive Function From Baseline

    Time frame: Baseline to Six weeks

    Measured by the validated task-switching test of Trailmaking B. This is a well established computerised test of executive function. On a computer screen participants are presented with 24 circles with either numbers (0-13) or letters (A-L). They must select the circles in the correct numerical and alphabetic order, alternating numbers and letters each time (e.g. 1, A, 2, B, 3, C etc). The test is completed when all the circles have been correctly selected. The test outputs a total score. A higher score indicates a better performance. A negative mean score indicates a decline in performance. The range of scoring for this test is 0 - 300,000.

    Data reported here are for mean change per group form baseline to six weeks

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in Numerical Working Memory From Six Weeks

    Time frame: Baseline to six weeks

    Digit Span test for numerical working memory. Partifcipants complete a computerised task. They must remember increasingly long strings of digits and repeat them back. Scores are based on correct responses. Higher score means better performance. Score range is 0 - 20

  2. Change in Working Memory From Baseline

    Time frame: Baseline to six weeks

    Measured through a computerised version of the Paired Associate Learning task in which participants must remember the location of a symbol behind a series of boxes on a screen, and accurately identify the correct location when prompted. Scores are based on accuracy. Higher score indicates better performance. Data reported here shows mean change from baseline. Range of scores is 0 - 16

  3. Change in Reaction Time From Baseline

    Time frame: Baseline to six weeks

    Measured through a Simple Reaction time test as part of the Wesnes Cognition Ltd CogTrackTM system. Participants are shown a target symbol on the screen and must react by pressing the keyboard / touching the screen (depending on the device being used) when the target appears. Output is measured in milliseconds as a reaction time variable. Lower scores are better; higher scores are worse. Range of scores is 100 - 30,000

  4. Change in Episodic Memory From Baseline

    Time frame: Baseline to six weeks

    Measured with the Delayed Picture Recognition task in which participants recall a series of images shown earlier in the cognitive test battery. The test outputs percentage of correct answers as the measure. A higher score shows a better outcome. Range output is 0 - 100

  5. Change in Overall Composite Measure of Global Cognition

    Time frame: Baseline to six weeks

    This is a composite measure of overall cognition that is created by normalising the outputs from all other cognitive tests to give a total score out of 100. The data shown here is the change in total score from baseline to six weeks. Range is 0 - 100. A higher score indicates a better outcome

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Exeter

Other

Collaborators

  • King's College London
  • South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust
  • Wesnes Cognition Ltd

Registry information

Official study title

Impact of Short-term Intensive Online Grammatical Reasoning Training on Cognition and Function in Adults Over 50: An Online Randomised Controlled Trial

Acronym: START

Important dates

Study start
2017
Primary completion
2018
Study completion
2018
First posted
Sep 7, 2018
Registry last updated
May 4, 2026

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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