Social and Cognitive Online Training: the SCOT Project

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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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.

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

Conditions
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Aging, Cognitive Decline

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: SCOT
* Behavioral: CON


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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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;

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 65 Years
Maximum Age: 90 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Social and Cognitive Online Training Group (SCOT)<br>A group of participants randomly assigned to a social-cognitive online training through individual cognitive training sessions and group sessions to improve social functioning. | Behavioral: SCOT<br>* 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.).<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control Group (CON)<br>A group of participants randomly assigned to receive an active control intervention to compare performances with the experimental group. | Behavioral: CON<br>* 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.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The Tower of London test (Boccia et al. 2017) | Accuracy (% of correct answers) | Day 0 - Month 3 | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Experimental task of emotion recognition | Accuracy (% of correct answers) | Day 0 - Month 3 | 
| Italian Social and Emotional Loneliness Scale | Minimum value: 18; Maximum value: 72; Higher scores mean a worse outcome in terms of perceived loneliness. | Day 0 - Month 3 |