Modeling and Testing Change in Mental Abilities in Childhood
Condition: Low Executive Function in Children
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Children with low executive function, working memory and attention skills in childhood not
      only do poorly at school, but also go on to do poorly on social, health, and financial
      indicators in adulthood.

      The rate of executive function disorders in children is vastly underestimated at 17% , even
      when taking into account two of the more widely known disorders of Attention Deficit
      Hyperactivity Disorder (11%) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (6%), but children of lower
      socioeconomic status are especially vulnerable due to reduced resource availability.

      As executive function, working memory and attention skills are central to success in later
      life, if children with low skills can be given targeted training to improve the skills they
      fall short on, there is potential to both improve their short-term academic performance, and
      influence long-term achievement. In fact, poor executive function skills and poor attention
      and working memory is a large predictor of poor performance even in typically developing
      children who are doing poorly academically.

      Hypothesis 1. Those with lower working memory will also have lower problem solving skills and
      lower indices of other executive functioning skills such as reasoning/problem solving.

      Hypothesis 2. Children that start with lower WM and PS will show the highest gains in
      training related performance, and such high gains on WM and PS will lead to better
      performance post-intervention compared to baseline measures of cognitive function.

      Hypothesis 3: Those who make the largest gains in WM and PS with training will show more
      retention of training gains at 6 months compared those who show lower gains.

      Aim 1. Assess working memory (WM) and processing speed (PS) skills in children and their
      inter-relationships with executive functioning skills Aim 2. Examine change in cognitive
      function in WM and PS after intensive training in WM and PS, during and immediately
      post-intervention Aim 3. Examine long-term retention of training effects on WM, PS, and
      executive functions.

      The purpose of this study is to establish an effective and targeted working memory and
      processing speed intervention in children ages 7-10 with low to average executive function
      skills, by utilizing home-based computer games specifically designed to appeal to children.

      Following institution approved consents, 60 low socioeconomic status children from Los
      Angeles will be recruited and enrolled in the study and be asked to play specific fun, but
      targeted cognitive computer games for 10 weeks.

      The results of this pilot study will establish a protocol for feasibility of improving
      executive function skills in children with underdeveloped skills and inform on sufficiency of
      sample sizes, length of interventions, and directly impact computer-based intervention
      research and cost-effective techniques in children's cognitive development within the next
      3-5 years.
    


Intervention name(s): Computer games to assess change in executive function skills
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Children get access to computer games for 10 weeks for an hour each week.
Other intervention name(s): Difficult / Easy games
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Investigator)
Primary purpose: Basic Science