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Summary: Insomnia is common, and causes substantial individual suffering and costs for society. The recommended first‐line treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT‐I), which is under‐used partly due to a lack of trained providers. To train providers is thus important, but what is the current situation regarding CBT‐I training? A systematic search of databases was conducted to identify scientific peer‐reviewed papers describing CBT‐I training with regards to: existing amounts of training, proposed curricula, trainees, delivery context, content of training, modes of delivery, evaluation of the training from a trainee perspective, and effects on patients. This systematic review shows that research on training in CBT‐I is an emerging field, with the literature presenting a limited number of papers, with varying objectives. One group of papers investigate the amount of training that exists in a region or educational context and/or propose training curricula; and another group evaluate training initiatives and describe CBT‐I training trainees, context, content, modes of delivery, and outcomes on trainees and on treated patients. The studies show that little training is currently provided and proposed curricula vary, and evaluations present promising results: training is feasible in different contexts and modes, digital training may be used to disseminate training efforts at a large scale, trainees' skills increase and positive effects on patients can be seen. To move the field forward, more high‐quality studies on CBT‐I training are needed, and we propose that training in CBT‐I should be targeted towards varying levels of expertise, matching a stepped‐care model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the prevalence and clinical manifestations of reading, writing, and mathematics disorders in children with cerebral palsy (CP). We explored how the clinical profile of these children differed from those with specific learning disorders (SLDs), taking into account several factors, particularly IQ scores, neuropsychological aspects, and the presence of a visual impairment. Method: A prospective cross‐sectional study was conducted in 42 children with CP (mean age 9 years 8 months; SD = 2 years 2 months) and 60 children with SLDs (mean age 10 years; SD = 1 year 7 months). Clinical characteristics, neuromotor and cognitive profiles, neuropsychological aspects (speech performance, academic skills, visual attention, phonological awareness, working memory), and signs of visual impairment (visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, visual field, oculomotor functions) were assessed. A machine learning approach consisting of a random forest algorithm, where the outcome was the diagnosis and the covariates were the clinical variables collected in the sample, was used for the analyses. Results: About 59% of the children with CP had reading, writing, or mathematics disorders. Children with CP with learning disorders had a low performance IQ, normal phonological awareness, and working memory difficulties, whereas children with SLDs had normal performance IQ, impaired phonological awareness, and mild working memory difficulties. There were no differences in verbal IQ between the two groups. Interpretation: Learning disorders are frequently associated with CP, with different clinical characteristics, compared with SLDs. Assessment of academic skills is mandatory in these children, even if the IQ is normal. At school age, specific interventions to promote academic skills in children with CP could be a major rehabilitative goal. What this paper adds: Reading, writing, and mathematics disorders in cerebral palsy have specific clinical characteristics.Their underlying mechanisms differ from those described in specific learning disorders.Working memory impairment can be considered a hallmark of learning disorders in children with cerebral palsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional mindfulness interventions have been frequently reported to be effective in improving cognitive functions. In recent years, however, traditional programs are being increasingly replaced by technology‐enabled mindfulness training programs. The aim of the present systematic review (PROSPERO ID: CRD42021289480) is to evaluate the research evidence on their effects on cognitive functions. Empirical training studies in the realm of digital mindfulness training that fulfilled the inclusion criteria led to 19 studies and 1654 participants being included in this review from among the papers searched in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge. Results support previous assumptions on the potential of digital mindfulness training, with the most robust effect on attention control, followed by executive regulation, memory, cognitive flexibility, and other cognitive functions. However, the number of studies that did not find significant changes at least equaled, if not exceeded, the number of studies that found increases. The heterogeneity of identified studies prompted us to discuss several aspects in order to help the future development of digital applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cognitive training can potentially reduce risk of cognitive decline and dementia in older adults. To support implementation of cognitive training in the broader population of older adults, it is critical to evaluate intervention implementation and efficacy among representative samples, particularly those at highest risk of cognitive decline. Hearing and vision impairments are highly prevalent among older adults and confer increased risk of cognitive decline/dementia. Whether cognitive training interventions enroll and are designed to include this important subgroup is unknown. Methods: A scoping review of PubMed and PsycINFO was conducted to examine the inclusion of older adults with hearing and vision impairment in cognitive training interventions. Two independent reviewers completed a full‐text review of eligible articles. Eligible articles included cognitive training and multimodal randomized controlled trials and a study population that was cognitively unimpaired, aged ≥55‐years, and community dwelling. Articles were primary outcome papers published in English. Results: Among the 130 articles included in the review, 103 were cognitive training interventions (79%) and 27 were multimodal interventions (21%). More than half the trials systematically excluded participants with hearing and/or vision impairment (n = 60, 58%). Few studies reported hearing and vision measurement (cognitive: n = 16, 16%; multimodal: n = 3, 11%) or incorporated universal design and accessibility into intervention design (cognitive: n = 7, 7%; multimodal: n = 0, 0%). Discussion: Older adults with hearing and vision impairment are underrepresented in cognitive training interventions. Reporting of hearing and vision measurement, proper justification of exclusions, and inclusion of accessibility and universal intervention design are also lacking. These findings raise concerns about whether current trial findings apply to those with hearing and vision impairment and generalize to the broader population of older adults. It is critical to include more diverse study populations and integrate accessibility into intervention design to include and better represent older adults with hearing and vision impairment. Highlights: Cognitive training interventions underrepresent hearing and vision impairment.Sensory measurement and proper justification of exclusions are rarely reported.Interventions lack inclusion of accessibility and universal intervention design.More diverse study populations are needed in cognitive training interventions.Integration of accessibility into cognitive training intervention design is needed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online interventions promoted to enhance cognitive ability hold great appeal for their potential positive impact in social, employment, and educational domains. Cognitive training programs have, thus far, not been shown to influence performance on tests of general cognitive aptitude. Strengthening Mental Abilities with Relational Training (SMART) is an online program that claims to raise intelligence quotient (IQ). This systematic review and meta‐analysis evaluates the effect of SMART on indices of cognitive aptitude and academic performance. The review protocol was registered at PROSPERO (CRD42019132404). A systematic literature search of bibliographic databases (ERIC, PsycINFO, PubMed, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Scopus, Proquest Psychology) identified five studies (N = 195) that met the criterion for inclusion. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias 'RoB 2' tool. Overall, there was a moderate impact of SMART on measures of nonverbal IQ (g = 0.57, 95% CI [0.24, 0.89]). There was insufficient evidence to determine the impact of SMART on any other domain. All studies included in the review were judged to be at a high risk of bias for their primary outcome. Despite the methodological limitations of published studies to date, these initial findings suggest that a large‐scale study of SMART is warranted. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicSMART is a popular, commercially available online program that claims to improve cognitive skills in children.A number of controlled trials have investigated the efficacy of SMART and reported positive findings.There are no existing systematic reviews or meta‐analyses of the literature for this intervention.What this paper addsThe present study represents the first systematic review and meta‐analysis of the effect of SMART on cognitive and educational outcomes.We identified five trials that met the criteria for inclusion in the review. All five studies were rated as having a high risk of bias using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias tool.We calculated a moderate overall impact of SMART on measures of nonverbal IQ. There was insufficient evidence to determine the impact of SMART in any other cognitive or educational domain.Implications for practice and/or policyPractitioners and/or teachers can use the review to inform their decisions about adopting SMART as an online educational tool.While the current findings are encouraging, the number of controlled trials conducted on SMART is small and the studies have a number of significant methodological limitations.We recommend that SMART be evaluated with larger and more robustly designed trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapidly increasing worldwide population of older adults, along with the increasing prevalence of cognitive impairment and dementia in this population, is a growing health‐care problem. As such, advances in technology‐based cognitive interventions and games are playing an increasingly key role in preserving and improving older adults' cognitive function, especially during the COVID‐19 pandemic when opportunities for face‐to‐face activities or training are few. In this paper, we summarize from previous studies systematic reviews and meta‐analyses on the various types of technology used in cognitive interventions (namely, computerized cognitive training, virtual‐reality interventions and robot‐assisted interventions) and the empirical evidence on the effects of these technologies on global and specific cognitive functions in healthy and clinical populations of older adults (e.g., older adults with mild cognitive impairment or dementia). We also describe older adults' perceptions, experiences and acceptance of these technologies. Finally, we discuss the limitations, challenges and future avenues of research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Poor functioning has become a hallmark of many youth at clinical high‐risk (CHR) of psychosis. Even for those who do not make the transition to psychosis remain troubled by functional deficits and a decline in functioning increases the odds of transitioning to psychosis. There are very few treatment studies that have attempted to improve social and role functioning. The aim of this paper is to describe the methods of a treatment study to address social and role functioning in CHR. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial of cognitive‐behavioural social skills training (CBSST) versus a supportive therapy. CBSST combines elements of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) and social skills training (SST), two evidence‐based treatments for schizophrenia. By adding CBT to SST to target functioning outcomes, SST can be used to train new social skills, and thoughts that interfere with skilled performance in the real world can be addressed using CBT. We developed an adapted version of CBSST, more appropriate for the age range and illness severity of typical CHR individuals, to attempt to show improvements in social and role functioning for these young people. Results: Two hundred and three participants were recruited for this study. Results include initial baseline data. Conclusion: This article describes the baseline methodology of a CHR youth who have difficulties in social and/or role functioning. It is one of the first clinical trials to address this significant problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Heart surgery is a risk factor for objectively and subjectively assessable postoperative cognitive decline (POCD), which is relevant for everyday life. The aim of this study was to investigate whether early postoperative cognitive training has an impact on health‐related quality of life and cognitive failures in daily living after cardiac surgery. Methods: The study was a two‐arm, randomized, controlled, outcome‐blinded trial involving older patients undergoing elective heart valve surgery with extracorporeal circulation (ECC). Recruitment took place at the Departments of Cardiac Surgery of the Kerckhoff Clinic in Bad Nauheim (Germany) and the University Hospital in Giessen (Germany). The patients were randomized (1:1 ratio) to either a paper‐and‐pencil–based cognitive training group or a control group. We applied the Short Form Health Survey (SF‐36) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) prior to surgery and 3 months after the cognitive training. Data were analyzed in a per‐protocol fashion. Results: Three months after discharge from rehabilitation, the training group (n = 31) showed improvement in health‐related quality of life compared to the control group (n = 29), especially in role limitations due to emotional problems (U = −2.649, p =.008, η2 = 0.121), energy and fatigue (F[2.55] = 5.72, p =.020, η2 = 0.062), social functioning (U = −2.137, p =.033, η2 = 0.076), the average of all SF‐36 factors (U = −2.374, p =.018, η2 = 0.094), health change from the past year to the present time (U = −2.378, p =.017, η2 = 0.094), and the mental component summary (U = −2.470, p =.013, η2 = 0.102). Conclusion: As our cognitive training has shown beneficial effects, this intervention could be a promising method to enhance health‐related quality of life after cardiac surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: In a 5‐year follow‐up study, we investigated the enduring effects of cognitive training on older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS: A randomized controlled single‐blind trial involved 145 older adults with MCI, assigned to cognitive training (MEMO+), an active control psychosocial intervention, or a no‐contact condition. Five‐year effects were measured on immediate and delayed memory recall, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment screening test (MoCA), self‐reported strategy use, and daily living difficulties. RESULTS: At follow‐up, participants who received cognitive training showed a smaller decline in delayed memory and maintained MoCA scores, contrasting with greater declines in the control groups. Cognitive training participants outperformed controls in both delayed memory and MoCA scores at the 5‐year time point. No significant group differences were observed in self‐reported strategy use or difficulties in daily living. DISCUSSION: Cognitive training provides long‐term benefits by mitigating memory decline and slowing clinical symptom progression in older adults with MCI. Highlights: Cognitive training reduced the 5‐year memory decline of persons with MCI.Cognitive training also reduced decline on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).No intervention effect was found on strategy use or activities of daily living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined a training program for developing cognitive complexity (cognitive complexity training [CCT]) for reducing gender harassment using data of workers in an actual work environment. CCT was conducted with 20 Japanese employees. The participants were administered the Gender Harassment Scale consisting of two subscales: the Commission (e.g., marginal role expectations of women, such as serving coffee and making photocopies) and the Omission (e.g., exclusion of women from essential jobs and core roles). The participants responded to the Gender Harassment Scale before CCT, right after CCT, and at the 2‐week follow‐up assessment. The results indicated that participants' post‐CCT and follow‐up Commission scores significantly improved compared to their pre‐CCT scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orienteering is a sport that involves navigating. As navigation skills relate to individual visuospatial factors, it is worth examining whether practicing orienteering is associated with people's visuospatial abilities and wayfinding attitudes. A sample of 51 participants comprising three groups of 17 individuals with different orienteering expertise (experts, beginners, and controls—people that do not practice sport) completed visuospatial cognitive tasks and wayfinding attitude questionnaires, and were assessed on their everyday spatial habits and map learning. Results of Bayesian analysis showed that experts scored higher than controls in most visuospatial tasks, reported more positive wayfinding attitudes (sense of direction, knowledge of cardinal points, everyday map use), and learned better from maps. Beginners generally performed better than controls and less well than experts did. These results show that orienteering relates with individual visuospatial abilities, attitudes, spatial habits, and spatial learning. They are discussed within the frame of motor activities and spatial cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the important role of good mental health and the wide-ranging consequences of mental disorders have been increasingly recognized. Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to contribute to his or her community. The World Health Organization (WHO) claims that action is necessary across sectors to promote mental health and well-being, as is stated in the third Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which advocates the need to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. [Extracted from the article]

BACKGROUND: Cognitive training is delivered visually and aurally. It is unknown whether self‐reported sensory difficulty modifies the effects of cognitive training on cognition. METHODS: Participants (N = 2788) in the Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly Study were randomized to training in memory, reasoning, speed of processing, or control. Differences in the 10‐year effect of cognitive training on cognition by self‐reported vision and hearing difficulty were assessed using linear mixed effect models. RESULTS: Benefit (intervention vs. control) of reasoning training was smaller among participants with versus without vision difficulty (difficulty: –0.25, 95% confidence interval: [–0.88, 0.39], no difficulty: 0.58 [0.28, 0.89]). Benefit of memory training was greater for participants with versus without hearing difficulty (difficulty: 0.17 [–0.37, 0.72], no difficulty: –0.20 [–0.65, 0.24]). DISCUSSION: Older adults with sensory loss have increased risk for cognitive decline; benefits of cognitive training may be greater for these individuals. Sensory loss should be considered in training design. Highlights: Memory training was more beneficial for participants with hearing loss.Participants with vision difficulties did not benefit as much from reasoning training.Low accessibility in design and learned compensation strategies may contribute.Consideration of sensory impairment in study design is needed.Inclusion of older adults with sensory impairment in cognitive training is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive training may promote healthy brain aging and prevent dementia, but results from individual studies are inconsistent. There are disagreements on how to evaluate cognitive training interventions between clinical and basic scientists. Individual labs typically create their own assessment and training materials, leading to difficulties reproducing methods. Here, we advocate for improved interoperability: the exchange and cooperative development of a consensus for cognitive training design, analysis, and result interpretation. We outline five guiding principles for improving interoperability: (i) design interoperability, developing standard design and analysis models; (ii) material interoperability, promoting sharing of materials; (iii) interoperability incentives; (iv) privacy and security norms, ensuring adherence to accepted ethical standards; and (v) interpretability prioritization, encouraging a shared focus on neurobiological mechanisms to improve clinical relevance. Improving interoperability will allow us to develop scientifically optimized, clinically useful cognitive training programs to slow/prevent brain aging. HIGHLIGHTS: Interoperability facilitates progress via resource sharing and comparability.Better interoperability is needed in cognitive training for brain aging research.We adapt an interoperability framework to cognitive training research.We suggest five guiding principles for improved interoperability.We propose an open‐source pipeline to facilitate interoperability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While mounting evidence shows promising effects of brain training on cognitive functioning in healthy and pathological conditions, the spread of variable training approaches highlights the need to compare their efficacy and identify their neural correlates, representing possible targets for neuromodulation treatments. We performed coordinate-based functional magnetic resonance imaging meta-analyses to compare the neural correlates and the cognitive outcomes of cognitive (n = 22), physical (n = 22), and meditative (n = 20) training in healthy non-expert individuals. Pre/post-training cognitive metrics improved after cognitive and physical training, but their heterogeneity, or even the lack of these measurements in some studies, highlights the need of more structured protocols. Cognitive, physical, and meditative interventions increased brain activity in distinct fronto-medial areas likely mediating training effects on cognitive, action, and attentional control, respectively. The modular, training-specific, engagement of a region that is known to mediate feedbackbased learning provides cues for boosting brain training via combined interventions that might jointly outperform their individual effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sense of smell plays an essential role in the sensory evaluation of coffee. However, a precise sensory evaluation also requires good memory and the ability to stay focused and concentrated. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an online sensory and cognitive training program on the odor recognition of 36 coffee aromas. A total of 44 coffee professionals participated in a randomized crossover trial. It consisted of an online training program with different sensory and cognitive tasks over two periods of 6 weeks. The participants were divided into three study groups for data analysis purposes: a Control‐first group (n = 16), a matching Intervention‐first group (n = 16), and a second Intervention‐first‐residual group (n = 12) to check for repeatability of the test results. On average, the participants improved their odor recognition score by 15% after 6 weeks of training (p <.01) and maintained a high‐performance level after the control period. A positive correlation between completed training and improvement was observed (p <.001). The participants significantly improved their ability to detect the 36 Le Nez du Café aromas commonly used in the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) exam systems. Practical Applications: The new online training program is a promising tool for improving the odor recognition of coffee professionals. The sensory training can easily be accomplished as it is executable off‐site, is self‐instructive, and does not require any supervision. A further generalization of this new odor‐training program for noncoffee professionals may potentially train people with prolonged loss in olfactory function, such as observed in coronavirus disease 2019 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the effect of a mindfulness‐based curriculum designed especially for preschoolers on facets of executive functions. Fifty‐one preschoolers were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness and kindness curriculum (MC) or an active control dialogic reading program (DR). A battery of behavioral and neurophysiological tests was used to tap into facets of executive control (inhibition, shifting). Electroencephalography data were acquired during the attentional network task (ANT). Relative to DR, children in the MC group exhibited a reduced difference in the N200 Event related potentials (ERP) amplitudes for the congruent versus incongruent conditions during the ANT paradigm representing inhibition and shifting abilities. On the behavioral tasks, both groups improved on executive functions (EF) but on different facets; MC group showed increased inhibition and the DR group demonstrated significantly greater shifting abilities. The results highlight the sensitivity of electrophysiological data to detect subtle cognitive changes. The understanding of how mindfulness‐based interventions in preschoolers affect facets of executive functions can enable further refinement and maximization of the benefits of these interventions for this age group. We examined the effect of Mindfulness and kindness (MK) training in preschoolers on their cognitive abilities using neurocognitive assessments and electroencephalography (EEG). The results demonstrate the biological mechanism for the effect of MK on executive functions. The EEG findings of this study regarding the involvement of top‐down processes in cognitive regulation following MK training highlight the benefits of MK practice in childhood—a critical period in the development of cognitive skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Substance use disorders (SUD) are associated with cognitive deficits that are not always addressed in current treatments, and this hampers recovery. Cognitive training and remediation interventions are well suited to fill the gap for managing cognitive deficits in SUD. We aimed to reach consensus on recommendations for developing and applying these interventions. Design, Setting and Participants: We used a Delphi approach with two sequential phases: survey development and iterative surveying of experts. This was an on‐line study. During survey development, we engaged a group of 15 experts from a working group of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (Steering Committee). During the surveying process, we engaged a larger pool of experts (n = 54) identified via recommendations from the Steering Committee and a systematic review. Measurements: Survey with 67 items covering four key areas of intervention development: targets, intervention approaches, active ingredients and modes of delivery. Findings Across two iterative rounds (98% retention rate), the experts reached a consensus on 50 items including: (i) implicit biases, positive affect, arousal, executive functions and social processing as key targets of interventions; (ii) cognitive bias modification, contingency management, emotion regulation training and cognitive remediation as preferred approaches; (iii) practice, feedback, difficulty‐titration, bias modification, goal‐setting, strategy learning and meta‐awareness as active ingredients; and (iv) both addiction treatment work‐force and specialized neuropsychologists facilitating delivery, together with novel digital‐based delivery modalities. Conclusions: Expert recommendations on cognitive training and remediation for substance use disorders highlight the relevance of targeting implicit biases, reward, emotion regulation and higher‐order cognitive skills via well‐validated intervention approaches qualified with mechanistic techniques and flexible delivery options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) is the computer simulation of a three‐dimensional environment that a person can interact with using special electronic equipment, such as a headset with an integrated display. Often coupled with VR, exergames are video games that involve physical exercise. Little is known regarding the chronic effects of exergaming through VR chon cognitive functions. Eleven young participants were enrolled in this crossover exploratory study. They had to follow two trainings of 5 consecutive days, 15 min per day, interspaced by a 1‐month washout period. Trainings were performed in a random order: (1) a video training using shadow boxing fitness videos (SBV) and (2) a VR training using a three‐dimensional game where the aim is to cut moving cubes with a sword in each hand. Before and after each training period, a battery of cognitive tests was performed to assess executive functions, such as attention (change blindness), reaction time, response inhibition (go/no‐go, Stroop task), or flexibility (trail making test). Fine motor skills were also evaluated through a Fitt's task. No effect of the SBV training was observed on any of the cognitive functions tested. On the contrary, a significant increased performance in selective attention and observation tests was found after VR training, as well as in inhibitory processes (Stroop and go/no‐go). Other performances were unaffected by either VR or SBV training. The present study argues that VR exergaming is a promising tool to promote cognitive enhancement but targets specific functions according to the type of interface/game that is used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Cancer‐related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is associated with adverse work‐related outcomes in women living with a history of primary breast cancer. We explored the perceived impact of receiving adaptive cognitive training (dual n‐back training) or active control training (dual 1‐back training) on CRCI. Furthermore, we explored the perceived transfer effects of cognitive training on work‐related self‐management methods for cognitive impairment and work‐related outcomes such as career development. Design: Longitudinal qualitative study. Methods: A 'framework' analysis approach was used to analyse semi‐structured telephone interviews completed by women with a history of primary breast cancer before training (N = 40), one month (N = 30) and six months (N = 29) post‐training. Results: Four main themes were identified: (1) impact of cognitive impairment at work, (2) perceived impact of cognitive training on impaired cognitive function, (3) perceived effects of training on work‐related self‐management methods for cognitive impairment and (4) perceived impact on women's career development and progression. Compared to baseline, women who received adaptive dual n‐back training reported sustained improvement in multiple cognitive domains including memory and attention up to six months post‐training when the follow‐up interviews were conducted. Perceived improvements in cognitive function were associated with greater self‐confidence and better emotional well‐being in work. These improvements were found to lower dependency on self‐management methods for cognitive impairment and enhance effectiveness as well as prompt career development or progression for many women. Although some findings of a similar nature were reported in the active control dual 1‐back training group the perceived effects were more pronounced and consistent in the dual n‐back group. Conclusions: Adaptive cognitive training (dual n‐back training) improves perceived CRCI experienced by women in the workplace, enhancing their self‐confidence and general emotional well‐being. These perceived improvements, in turn, can decrease reliance on self‐management methods for cognitive impairment and improve work efficiency and contribute to career development and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential benefits and mechanistic effects of working memory training (WMT) in children are the subject of much research and debate. We show that after five weeks of school‐based, adaptive WMT 6–9 year‐old primary school children had greater activity in prefrontal and striatal brain regions, higher task accuracy, and reduced intra‐individual variability in response times compared to controls. Using a sequential sampling decision model, we demonstrate that this reduction in intra‐individual variability can be explained by changes to the evidence accumulation rates and thresholds. Critically, intra‐individual variability is useful in quantifying the immediate impact of cognitive training interventions, being a better predictor of academic skills and well‐being 6–12 months after the end of training than task accuracy. Taken together, our results suggest that attention control is the initial mechanism that leads to the long‐run benefits from adaptive WMT. Selective and sustained attention abilities may serve as a scaffold for subsequent changes in higher cognitive processes, academic skills, and general well‐being. Furthermore, these results highlight that the selection of outcome measures and the timing of the assessments play a crucial role in detecting training efficacy. Thus, evaluating intra‐individual variability, during or directly after training could allow for the early tailoring of training interventions in terms of duration or content to maximise their impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Zmigrod et al. (2019a, Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 989) demonstrated that lower levels of cognitive flexibility predict a higher willingness to fight and die for the national in‐group. We conducted a registered direct replication of their Study 1. Extending the original study, we examined whether the documented relationship held when a self‐report measure for cognitive flexibility was introduced and when identity fusion was controlled for. We also investigated whether cognitive inflexibility predicts normative pro‐group behaviour intentions. Methods: Participants (N = 1378) reported in a cross‐sectional survey study their willingness to fight, die and sacrifice themselves for the in‐group and completed the Remote Associates (RAT) as and Wisconsin Card Sorting (WCST) tests. Afterwards, self‐reported cognitive flexibility, identity fusion and normative pro‐group behaviour intentions were assessed. Results: Results showed a small negative relationship between RAT accuracy rates and willingness to fight and die. WCST accuracy rates were positively related with willingness to die but not correlated with willingness to fight. Self‐report measures of cognitive flexibility were partially positively and partially negatively associated with support for violent extremism. There was further evidence that lower cognitive flexibility predicts higher normative pro‐group behaviour intentions. A mini meta‐analysis, which synthesized findings from the original study and our replication, demonstrated a relatively small negative correlation between cognitive flexibility and support for violent extremism. Conclusions: In summary, even though not all individual results could be replicated, we confirmed the overall conclusion of the original study: lower cognitive flexibility predicted stronger willingness to fight and die for an in‐group. The findings highlight that it is important to integrate cognitive style in multi‐level frameworks of risk factors of violent extremism. Additionally, our results point out that the validity of different measures of cognitive flexibility, including self‐report tools, must be further examined. Future research that evaluates cognitive flexibility training in the context of CVE/PVE interventions is also encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rise of the mobile Internet, APP treatment models for autism have also emerged. In China, there are not many applications of health education for children with autism. Its functions are mainly focused on prevention and improvement of knowledge. Many behavioral therapies include applying pressure to the invisible external pressure of autism to achieve appropriate stimulation and correction. This has brought great injustice to the wishes of the children. When children with autism strongly oppose this unfair behavior, it may lead to other extreme behaviors in children with autism. This article adopts the method of letting children with autism actually apply this APP for comprehensive intervention treatment, and let this APP combine with their daily courses: comprehensive sports training, speech training, cognitive training, game training, self‐care training. For courses such as art training and computer games, the children were evaluated for the first time before training, and then evaluated every 2 months. Data were collected to compare whether the children's background factors had a significant impact on the rehabilitation effect of comprehensive interventions. The results of the experiment proved that in the five assessments of perception, gross motor, fine motor, language and communication, cognition, the children had statistically significant differences in the three scores (P < 0.05). This also shows from the side that our APP has a certain effect on children with autism, and is of great strategic significance for adjuvant treatment of autism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Given rapid global population aging, developing interventions against age-associated cognitive decline is an important medical and societal goal. We evaluated a cognitive training protocol combined with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on trained and non-trained functions in non-demented older adults. Methods: Fifty-six older adults (65-80 years) were randomly assigned to one of two interventional groups, using age and baseline performance as strata. Both groups performed a nine-session cognitive training over 3 weeks with either concurrent anodal tDCS (atDCS, 1 mA, 20 minutes) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (target intervention) or sham stimulation (control intervention). Primary outcome was performance on the trained letter updating task immediately after training. Secondary outcomes included performance on other executive and memory (near and far transfer) tasks. All tasks were administered at baseline, post-intervention, and at 1- and 7-month follow-up assessments. Prespecified analyses to investigate treatment effects were conducted using mixed-model analyses. Results: No between-group differences emerged in the trained letter updating and Markov decision-making tasks at post-intervention and at follow-up timepoints. Secondary analyses revealed group differences in one near-transfer task: Superior n-back task performance was observed in the tDCS group at post-intervention and at followup. No such effectswere observed for the other transfer tasks. Improvements in workingmemory were associated with individually induced electric field strengths. Discussion: Cognitive training with atDCS did not lead to superior improvement in trained task performance compared to cognitive training with sham stimulation. Thus, our results do not support the immediate benefit of tDCS-assisted multi-session cognitive training on the trained function. As the intervention enhanced performance in a near-transfer working memory task, we provide exploratory evidence for effects on non-trainedworking memory functions in non-demented older adults that persist over a period of 1 month. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to explore whether game training could improve cognitive functioning and depression symptoms in the elderly affected by mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Methods: A non‐blinded randomized controlled trial was conducted. Participants were 72 patients with MCI and depression from a nursing home in Wuhan. Participants were randomized to either the intervention group or the control group (n = 36 each). The intervention group received regular nursing care plus game training for 50 min, three times per week for 8 weeks, whereas the control group received only regular nursing care during the same research period. Cognitive functioning and depression symptoms were tested in both groups at baseline and at the end of the 8‐week intervention. We used the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and the 15‐item Geriatric Depression Scale to assess cognitive functioning and depression symptoms, respectively. Results: The 8‐week game training intervention significantly improved the cognitive and depression scores when compared with the control group and baseline scores (p < 0.05). No significant difference was observed in the control group (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Our results suggest that the implementation of game training can improve the cognitive functioning and depression symptoms of the elderly with MCI, indicated that can be widely used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Cognitive bias modification (CBM), which retrains implicit biases towards unhealthy foods, has been proposed as a promising adjunct to improve the efficacy of weight loss interventions. We conducted a systematic review of research on three CBM approaches (i.e., cue‐specific inhibitory control, approach bias modification, and attentional bias modification) for reducing unhealthy eating biases and behavior. We performed a p‐curve analysis to determine the evidential value of this research; this method is optimally suited to clarify whether published results reflect true effects or false positives due to publication and reporting biases. When considering all CBM approaches, our results suggested that the findings of CBM trials targeting unhealthy eating are unlikely to be false positives. However, only research on attentional bias modification reached acceptable levels of power. These results suggest that CBM interventions may be an effective strategy to enhance the efficacy of weight loss interventions. However, there is room for improvement in the methodological standards of this area of research, especially increasing the statistical power can help to fully clarify the clinical potential of CBM, and determine the role of potential moderators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To evaluate and compare the effects of three cognitive boosting intervention approaches (computerised cognitive training, cognitive remediation and pharmacological cognitive enhancers) on measures of impulsive action and impulsive choice. Design Systematic review and meta‐analysis of publications that reported original controlled trials of cognitive boosting interventions. Setting: Studies conducted anywhere in the world. No language restrictions were applied. Participants: Treatment‐seeking adults with substance use disorder or gambling disorder. Measurements Our primary outcome was a reduction in impulsive action or choice on a validated cognitive measure post‐intervention. We assessed risk of bias using the Cochrane Collaboration tool and determined pooled estimates from published reports. We performed random‐effects analyses for impulsive action and impulsive choice outcomes and planned moderator analyses. Findings Of 2204 unique studies identified, 60 were included in the full‐text review. Twenty‐three articles were considered eligible for inclusion in the qualitative synthesis and 16 articles were included in our meta‐analysis. Articles eligible for pooled analyses included five working memory training (computerised cognitive training) studies with 236 participants, three goal management training (cognitive remediation) studies with 99 participants, four modafinil (cognitive enhancer) studies with 160 participants and four galantamine (cognitive enhancer) studies with 131 participants. Study duration ranged from 5 days to 13 weeks, with immediate follow‐up assessments. There were no studies identified that specifically targeted gambling disorder. We only found evidence for a benefit on impulsive choice of goal management training, although only in two studies involving 66 participants (standardised mean difference (SMD) = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.49–1.23; P = 0.02; I2 = 0%, P = 0.95). Conclusion: Cognitive remediation, and specifically goal management training, may be an effective treatment for addressing impulsive choice in addiction. Preliminary evidence does not support the use of computerised cognitive training or pharmacological enhancers to boost impulse control in addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computerized cognitive training (CCT) has been found to improve a range of skills such as attention, working memory, inhibition control, and decision making. However, the relationship between the initial performance, amount of improvement, time constant, and asymptotic performance level in CCT is still unclear. In the current study, we performed selective attention training on college students and addressed this issue by mathematically modeling the learning curve with an exponential function. Twenty‐nine students completed approximately 10 days of CCT. Presentation time served as the dependent variable and was measured by three‐down/one‐up adaptive algorithms. We fitted an exponential function to the estimated block thresholds during CCT and obtained three learning parameters (amount of improvement, time constant, and asymptotic performance level) for all subjects. The initial performance was defined by the sum of the amount of improvement and the asymptotic performance level. Pearson correlation analyses were conducted between the initial performance and the three leaning parameters. The initial performance was positively correlated with the amount of improvement and asymptotic performance level, but was negatively correlated with the time constant. The time constant was negatively correlated with the amount of improvement and asymptotic performance level. Poorer initial performance was linked to a larger amount of improvement, shorter time constant, and higher asymptotic threshold, which supported the compensation account. Our results may help improve the present understanding of the nature of the CCT process and demonstrate the advantages of using a customized training protocol to enhance the efficiency of cognitive training in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]