Pilot Study of the Feasibility and Efficacy of Working Memory Training in Children With Cochlear Implants

Bilateral Hearing Loss Clinical Trial

Official title: Pilot Study of the Feasibility and Efficacy of Working Memory Training in Children With Cochlear Implants

Status Active, not recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

This study is an investigation of the effect of a computer-based working memory training program on memory and language processing in at-risk children (e.g., those with working memory weaknesses) who have received cochlear implants.

Clinical Trial Description

The long-term goal of this research program is to improve speech-language outcomes in prelingually deaf children who receive CIs. The objective of this proposal is to investigate the short-term effects of a novel working memory training program on memory, learning, and speech-language outcomes in children with CIs. The specific hypothesis of this project is that completion of a behaviorally-based training program designed to increase working memory capacity will improve attention, working memory span, and working memory-related speech-language processing in a group of deaf children with CIs. This hypothesis is based on past research demonstrating the efficacy of working memory training programs in improving attention and working memory in children with attention deficits, as well as on past research showing an association between working memory and speech-language outcomes in children with CIs. Knowledge about the effects of working memory training on CI speech-language outcomes will provide a better understanding of the process by which children with CIs learn speech-language following implantation and may offer an entirely new avenue of intervention to improve speech-language outcomes, particularly in deaf children who show limited improvement following implantation.

The specific aims of this study are:

1. Specific Aim 1: Determine the feasibility and application of a novel, computer-based working memory training program when applied to children with CIs. We hypothesize that children with CIs will show a progression of learning in both auditory and visual working memory during the training program that will mirror that of normal-hearing children.

2. Specific Aim 2: Determine the effect of the working memory training program on core attention, concentration, and working memory processes of children with CIs. We hypothesize that children with CIs will show improvement on both laboratory-based and parent-report measures of attention, concentration, and working memory processes after working memory training, compared to a baseline period.

3. Specific Aim 3: Determine the effect of the working memory training program on working memory-related speech-language outcome measures in children with CIs. We hypothesize that children with CIs will show improvement on auditory working memory, verbal naming fluency, and word repetition after training. ;

Study Design

Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Bilateral Hearing Loss
• Deafness
• Hearing Loss
• Hearing Loss, Bilateral

• NCT number: NCT00763243
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Indiana University
• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 2008
• Completion date: August 2012