0501 The effects of training on measures of attention and spatial bias
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Examining the effects of online training on measures of attention and spatial awareness
IRAS ID
184276
Contact name
Tom Manly
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cognition and Brain Science Unit
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
We will examine the feasibility, acceptability and likely effectiveness of online attention training programs for children. We will invite families who have previously consented to be on the Centre for Attention, Learning and Memory (CALM) database to take part. CALM is a research clinic established at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit with NRES approved mechanisms for recruitment to subsequent studies such as this. If families provide informed consent they will be invited back to CALM for one or two assessment sessions (depending on their schedules) or these assessments can be carried out at school. The assessments of the child will include computer-based measures of attention and spatial awareness and include heart rate, peripheral movement monitoring and galvanic skin response (changes in sweating associated with alertness) to index attentional engagement during the tasks. Parents/carers will also be asked to complete brief questionnaires. These measures will act as a baseline against which to judge any effects of the intervention. Participating children will be randomly allocated to one of 3 conditions, progressive attention training, non-progressive attention training (control 1) and wait-list (control 2). At the end of training the families will be invited back to CALM to repeat the measures and the questionnaires with a follow-up assessment 3 months later. At this stage, families who were allocated to the non-progressive and wait-list control conditions will be offered the opportunity to complete the more intensive training condition. The research questions include families and children’s views of the training, the practicalities of daily training and compliance and whether test and questionnaire measures differ between the assessment points in a way that is attributable to the training.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/EE/0146
Date of REC Opinion
20 May 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion