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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05023187

Social and Cognitive Online Training: the SCOT Project

Social isolation and reduced involvement in cognitive activities are associated with repercussions on cognitive well-being and health status in elderly adults. In particular, loneliness and social isolation represent risk factors in favouring cognitive decline and dementia. The Social Cognition Online Training (SCOT) project aims to evaluate the beneficial effects of an online intervention on social-cognitive functioning in healthy elderly subjects.

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Key information

Conditions

Aging Cognition Disorders Cognitive Decline Cognitive Dysfunction Mental Disorders Neurocognitive Disorders

Age range

65 year–90 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Centro Interdipartimentale Mente/Cervello - CIMeC

Rovereto, Trento, 38068, Italy

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

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

Inclusion criteria

  • Cognitively healthy subjects aged above 65 years old
  • Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) equivalent score > 1 (Italian normative values)

Exclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of dementia, based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, FifthEdition (DSM-V)
  • History of current or previous neuropsychiatric disorders;
  • History of current or previous substance abuse;

Treatment and study plan

SCOT

Behavioral

A 8-week social and cognitive online training to improve both cognitive and social functioning, which includes 2 sessions (~45 minutes each) of individual cognitive training through the BrainHQ© program 2020 (BrainHQ© Posit Science) and a psycho-educational group session for each week (24 sessions in total).

In the experimental intervention, all activities are focused on enhancing executive functions (working memory, processing speed, inhibitory control etc.) and social cognition abilities (identifying/recognizing facial expressions, styles attribution, drawing conclusions etc.).

CON

Behavioral

A 8-week active control intervention consisting of 2 sessions (~45 minutes each) of cognitive stimulation exercises and a group session for each week (24 sessions in total) during which the various cognitive domains are deepened and the exercises carried out during the week are reviewed all together.

The online control intervention has been specifically designed to increase the cognitive involvement of the subjects and to replicate the condition of exposure to social dynamics.

Primary outcomes

  1. The Tower of London test (Boccia et al. 2017)

    Time frame: Day 0 - Month 3

    Accuracy (% of correct answers)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Experimental task of emotion recognition

    Time frame: Day 0 - Month 3

    Accuracy (% of correct answers)

  2. Italian Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale

    Time frame: Day 0 - Month 3

    Minimum value: 18; Maximum value: 72; Higher scores mean a worse outcome in terms of perceived loneliness.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Università degli Studi di Trento

Other

Registry information

Official study title

SCOT: An Online Intervention to Reduce Social Isolation and Promote Cognitive Well-being in the Elderly Population

Acronym: SCOT

Important dates

Study start
2021
Primary completion
2021
Study completion
2022
First posted
Aug 26, 2021
Registry last updated
Jul 13, 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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