Noble Sandra-Carina, Woods Eva, Ward Tomas, Ringwood John V
Department of Electronic Engineering, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland.
Department of Biology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Ireland.
JMIR Res Protoc. 2023 Jul 5;12:e46135. doi: 10.2196/46135.
The number of people with cognitive deficits and diseases, such as stroke, dementia, or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is rising due to an aging, or in the case of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, a growing population. Neurofeedback training using brain-computer interfaces is emerging as a means of easy-to-use and noninvasive cognitive training and rehabilitation. A novel application of neurofeedback training using a P300-based brain-computer interface has previously shown potential to improve attention in healthy adults.
This study aims to accelerate attention training using iterative learning control to optimize the task difficulty in an adaptive P300 speller task. Furthermore, we hope to replicate the results of a previous study using a P300 speller for attention training, as a benchmark comparison. In addition, the effectiveness of personalizing the task difficulty during training will be compared to a nonpersonalized task difficulty adaptation.
In this single-blind, parallel, 3-arm randomized controlled trial, 45 healthy adults will be recruited and randomly assigned to the experimental group or 1 of 2 control groups. This study involves a single training session, where participants receive neurofeedback training through a P300 speller task. During this training, the task's difficulty is progressively increased, which makes it more difficult for the participants to maintain their performance. This encourages the participants to improve their focus. Task difficulty is either adapted based on the participants' performance (in the experimental group and control group 1) or chosen randomly (in control group 2). Changes in brain patterns before and after training will be analyzed to study the effectiveness of the different approaches. Participants will complete a random dot motion task before and after the training so that any transfer effects of the training to other cognitive tasks can be evaluated. Questionnaires will be used to estimate the participants' fatigue and compare the perceived workload of the training between groups.
This study has been approved by the Maynooth University Ethics Committee (BSRESC-2022-2474456) and is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05576649). Participant recruitment and data collection began in October 2022, and we expect to publish the results in 2023.
This study aims to accelerate attention training using iterative learning control in an adaptive P300 speller task, making it a more attractive training option for individuals with cognitive deficits due to its ease of use and speed. The successful replication of the results from the previous study, which used a P300 speller for attention training, would provide further evidence to support the effectiveness of this training tool.
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05576649; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05576649.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/46135.
由于人口老龄化，认知功能缺陷和疾病（如中风、痴呆症或注意力缺陷多动障碍）患者的数量正在增加；就注意力缺陷多动障碍而言，是由于人口增长。使用脑机接口的神经反馈训练正在成为一种易于使用且无创的认知训练和康复手段。此前，基于P300的脑机接口在神经反馈训练中的一项新应用已显示出改善健康成年人注意力的潜力。
本研究旨在利用迭代学习控制加速注意力训练，以优化自适应P300拼写任务中的任务难度。此外，我们希望重复之前使用P300拼写器进行注意力训练的研究结果，作为基准比较。此外，将训练期间个性化任务难度的有效性与非个性化任务难度适应进行比较。
在这项单盲、平行、三臂随机对照试验中，将招募45名健康成年人，并将其随机分配到实验组或两个对照组之一。本研究包括一次训练课程，参与者通过P300拼写任务接受神经反馈训练。在这次训练中，任务难度逐渐增加，这使得参与者更难保持他们的表现。这鼓励参与者提高他们的注意力。任务难度要么根据参与者的表现进行调整（在实验组和对照组1中），要么随机选择（在对照组2中）。将分析训练前后大脑模式的变化，以研究不同方法的有效性。参与者将在训练前后完成一项随机点运动任务，以便评估训练对其他认知任务的任何迁移效应。将使用问卷来估计参与者的疲劳程度，并比较各组之间训练的感知工作量。
本研究已获得梅努斯大学伦理委员会（BSRESC-2022-2474456）的批准，并在ClinicalTrials.gov上注册（NCT05576649）。参与者招募和数据收集于2022年10月开始，我们预计在2023年公布结果。
本研究旨在利用迭代学习控制在自适应P300拼写任务中加速注意力训练，由于其易用性和速度，使其成为认知功能缺陷个体更具吸引力的训练选择。成功重复之前使用P300拼写器进行注意力训练的研究结果，将为支持该训练工具的有效性提供进一步证据。
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05576649；https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05576649。
国际注册报告识别码（IRRID）：DERR1-10.2196/46135。
