ORCID Profile
0000-0002-4916-9128
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Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 19-09-2023
DOI: 10.2196/47496
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 24-03-2023
Abstract: common yet untested assumption of cognitive training in children is that activities should be adaptive, with difficulty adjusted to the in idual’s performance in order to maximize improvements on untrained tasks (known as transfer). Working memory training provides the ideal testbed to systematically examine this assumption as it is one of the most widely studied domains in the cognitive training literature, and is critical for children’s learning, including following instructions and reasoning. his trial aimed to examine children’s outcomes of working memory training using adaptive, self-select (child selects difficulty level) and stepwise (difficulty level increases incrementally) approaches to setting the difficulty of training activities compared to an active control condition immediately and 6 months post-intervention. While the aim is exploratory, we hypothesized that children allocated to a working memory training condition will show greater improvements: (1) on near transfer measures compared to intermediate and far transfer measures and (2) immediately post-intervention compared to 6 months post-intervention. his double-blinded, active-controlled, parallel-group randomized trial aimed to recruit 128 children aged 7 to 11 years from one metropolitan primary school in Melbourne. Following baseline testing, children were randomized into one of four conditions: adaptive, self-select or stepwise working memory training, or active control. An experimental intervention embedded in Minecraft was developed for teachers to deliver in class over two consecutive weeks (10 x 20-minute sessions). The working memory training comprised two training activities with processing demands similar to daily activities: backward span and following instructions. The control comprised creative activities. Pre- and post-intervention, children completed a set of working memory tests (near and intermediate transfer) and the Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (far transfer) to determine training outcomes, and motivation questionnaires to determine if motivations towards learning and the intervention were similar across conditions. Caregivers completed the ADHD Rating Scale-5 to measure their child’s attention (far transfer). Statistical analysis will include traditional null hypothesis significance testing and Bayesian methods to quantify evidence for both the null and alternative hypotheses. ata collection concluded in December 2022. Data is currently being processed and analyzed. his trial will determine whether the adaptive approach to setting the difficulty of training activities maximizes cognitive training outcomes for children. This trial has several strengths: adopts best practices for cognitive training studies (design, methods, analysis plan) uses a range of measures to detect discrete levels of transfer a 6 months post-intervention follow-up assessment appropriately powered and uses an experimental working memory training intervention based on current understanding of the cognitive mechanisms of training. Findings will inform future research and design of cognitive training interventions, and highlight the value of evidence-based principles of cognitive training. he Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12621000990820 www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12621000990820.aspx
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-01-2020
DOI: 10.1111/PCN.12972
Abstract: There is increasing evidence that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with widespread brain dysconnectivity. Mindfulness practice, which involves focused attention to experience the present moment in a purposeful way, has been shown to confer positive psychological and functional brain changes in healthy practitioners. It is unclear whether mindfulness practice could improve functional brain connectivity in older adults with cognitive impairment. Forty-seven participants with MCI were randomized into two groups: a mindfulness practice group and a control group. Functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain and neurocognitive tests were performed before and after the 3-month intervention. A temporal efficiency analysis approach was used to examine the spatiotemporal networks of the brain. Participants in the mindfulness group had significantly better temporal global efficiency than controls after 3-months of intervention. Localized changes of temporal nodal properties were present in the right cingulate gyrus, insula, and left superior temporal gyrus. Together, these results suggest greater information transmission efficiency at both the global and local spatiotemporal level. In terms of cognitive function, verbal recognition memory improved in the mindfulness group compared to the controls. Elders who practiced mindfulness had better brain network efficiency and neurocognitive function relative to controls in this study, suggesting that mindfulness may be of benefit to aging adults with early cognitive degeneration.
No related grants have been discovered for Regine Cassandra Lau.