View clinical trials related to Executive Function.
Filter by:The aim of the present trial is to examine core executive functions (EFs) as a functional outcome of attenuating the cortisol response to acute laboratory stress through colonic delivery of an Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs) mix (acetate, propionate, butyrate). A triple-blind randomized placebo-controlled parallel group trial will be conducted to compare the effects of SCFAs vs. placebo on core EFs (working memory [WM], cognitive flexibility [CF], response inhibition [RI]) under stress vs. no-stress conditions, after one week of SCFA vs. placebo treatment. First, the effects of SCFAs on stress-induced changes in core executive functions, with WM as the primary outcome, and CF and RI as secondary outcomes will be tested. Second, interindividual differences in microbiota composition (particularly abundance of SCFA-producers), saliva cortisol and serum SCFA levels will be explored to assess whether they are associated with interindividual differences in core EFs at baseline or following acute stress. Each participant will undergo 2 study visits: one will involve a stress condition and the other will involve a no-stress condition. Each study visit is preceded by a 1-week intervention or placebo period and separated by a 3-4 week washout period. To induce stress, participants will perform the Maastricht Acute Stress Task (MAST) or sham MAST as the control condition. To assess EF performance, three cognitive tasks will be performed 15 minutes after task offset: n-back task for WM; Stop Signal Task for RI; and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for CF. Saliva samples will be collected before, during and after the (sham) MAST to assess the cortisol response. Blood samples will be collected throughout all study visits to quantify serum SCFAs, inflammatory markers and ACTH. Additionally, cardiovascular variables will be measured, and self-report questionnaires will be completed to evaluate autonomic response to the condition and subjective stress responses, respectively
Deficits in executive functioning (EF) disproportionately impact children living in poverty and increase risk for psychopathology, particularly disruptive behavior disorders. This randomized clinical trial seeks to determine whether childhood EF, assessed across neural and behavioral units of analysis, is an experimental therapeutic target that can be directly modified through caregiver participation in the Chicago Parent Program (CPP), if increases in EF predict reduced disruptive behavior trajectories in low-income children over a short-term follow-up period, and identify which CPP-driven parenting skill improvements are the most influential in modifying EF. This work will contribute new knowledge as to whether a cost-efficient parenting intervention, developed for and with low-income families raising young children in poverty, can modify EF, a neural behavioral mechanism implicated in risk for childhood disruptive behavior problems.
Introduction and Significance: Preventive interventions have been shown to reduce the risk of developing anxiety and depression, making them a critical focus area in mental health promotion for children and adolescents. Enhancing emotion regulation (ER) skills in young people is one approach to preventing anxiety and depression, as ER involves cognitive processes of modifying thoughts and behaviors to manage emotional responses in different contexts. Executive functions (EF), such as cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibition, play a crucial role in ER development and regulation in children and adolescents. Recently, immersive virtual reality (IVR) has emerged as a novel tool for improving cognitive training interventions' accessibility and effectiveness. IVR allows users to experience immersive, three-dimensional environments, where they can interact with objects and events in a highly engaging and realistic way. Considering these developments, this study aims to explore the potential benefits of Enhance VR, a gamified IVR program designed to improve ER skills and reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms among children and adolescents. Methodology: The study will be a longitudinal, parallel, single-blind, randomized controlled pilot trial involving 80 Spanish - or English-speaking participants aged 10 to 16 years old. Participants will be excluded if they have severe psychiatric or neurodevelopmental disorders, physical, motor, or sensory impairments, or a risk of experiencing high cybersickness symptomatology during the VR experience. Participants will be randomly allocated into two groups: an experimental group receiving E-Emotio VR and a control group receiving a placebo-based VR relaxation experience. Both VR interventions will last five weeks, two times a week, for 30 minutes. The experimental group will engage in six games targeting cognitive flexibility, planning, reappraisal strategies, working memory, divided and sustained attention, and processing speed. The control group will be immersed in ten different nature-based VR environments and perform relaxation exercises. Baseline and post-intervention assessments will be conducted using age-adapted validated measures of depressive and anxiety symptoms, ER, executive function (working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and planning), and attention. Following the intervention, the assessment battery will be re-administered by a blinded assessor, and statistical analyses will be conducted for all the primary and secondary measures assessed before and after the intervention in both groups. Conclusion: In summary, this study aims to contribute to the development of effective preventive interventions for emotion regulation and mental health symptoms in children and adolescents by promoting ER through gamified VR cognitive training. The study's findings could have significant implications for mental health research, educational and clinical practice. By exploring the potential benefits of VR cognitive training, this research has the potential to inform future studies and clinical interventions aimed at improving young people's mental health and well-being. The gamification of cognitive training interventions could be a powerful tool for increasing engagement and motivation among young people, making them more likely to participate in such interventions.
The cognitive development in children involves fundamental changes in their thinking and understanding of the environment, enhancing skills such as attention, memory, and problem-solving. This development is linked to intelligence and mental processes, positively affecting academic performance. The prefrontal cortex, the seat of executive functions, undergoes maturation, crucial for planning and behavior regulation. Factors such as rest, language learning, and physical activity influence these functions. The study highlights the interconnection between executive functions and cognitive development in children, emphasizing the importance of early stimulation. Physical activity, especially strength training, emerges as a determinant in improving cognition and executive functions, with intensity playing a crucial role. Therefore, the aim is to investigate the effect of strength training, focusing on increased intentional execution speed compared to a constant low-speed approach.
The proposed project aims to disentangle the impact of evening light exposure emitted from tablet devices from the impact of arousing media content on children's sleep regulation, circadian physiology and next-day emotion regulation and executive functioning.
In recent years, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become the primary treatment for patients with medically uncontrolled Parkinson's disease (PD). Nevertheless, previous studies have shown that it has been controversial whether DBS-subthal amic nucleus (STN) has facilitated or impaired cognitive function in patients with PD. The etiology of the effect of DBS on the single cognitive domain, executive function, has yet to be clarified. Previous clinical studies in which DBS was performed in patients with PD have been performed under the Stroop effect. TMT (Trail Making Test A and B) cognitive tests and simultaneous acquisition of brain function data by electroencephalograph-functional near-infrared spectroscopy (EEG-fNIRS) have yet to be reported. To investigate the effect of DBS-STN on executive function in PD patients and whether there are differences at baseline, 1-month postoperative (DBS-on), 6 months postoperative follow-up, and 12 months postoperative follow-up. Under the condition of electroencephalograph-functional near-infrared spectroscopy (EEG-fNIRS) bimodal technology fusion, The investigators allow PD patients to operate the test of executive function (Stroop/TMT), real-time monitoring of cranial neurophysiology-oxygenation signals, and explore the changes of the brain function network of PD patients, and hope to achieve the following objectives through objective and scientific-technological means: (1) quantify the cognitive function of PD patients through EEG-fNIRS technology and possible trends of changes; (2) explain whether executive functions differ at the level of brain functional network connectivity between surgical and conservative treatments and whether the differences have interaction effects with treatment duration and treatment modalities, as well as analyze their simple effects; (3) To minimize artificial confounders of short-term learning effects and testers common to previous neurocognitive psychobehavioral tests; (4) To explore the mechanism of DBS on the changes of cortical brain networks in PD patients, to avoid or reduce the interference of surgery on cognitive functions, and to provide a theoretical basis for treating personalized surgical plans.
Playful interactions have an important role in human sociality. During playful interactions, two individuals continuously co-create an imaginary world together, such as playing roles in an imaginary scene or co-creating synchronized movements together. Playful interactions are characterized by an enhanced sense of flow and joy and have been associated with physical and psychological well-being across the lifespan. This research team and others have shown that playful interactions are particularly beneficial for the older population, which are at higher risk of cognitive decline and social isolation. The overarching aim of this proposal is to conduct an in-depth investigation of the effects of playful interactions, in older population. Specifically the investigators will test the effect of short playful interaction on cognitive measures, as well as social and affective indices, and compare them to a non-playful interaction (such exercise class, or personal conversation).
The goal of this clinical trial is by using the Cognitive Orientation Approach on Daily Occupational Performance, which is also supported by the literature and applied by occupational therapists, in children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, it is aimed to determine how children's executive function scores and occupational participation change. The main questions it aims to answer are: - Does the Cognitive Orientation Approach on Daily Occupational Performance have an effect on executive functions? - Does the Cognitive Orientation Approach on Daily Occupational Performance have an effect on occupational performance? Participants will: - Evaluations will be applied to all participants - Divided into intervention and control groups - The intervention group will be given "Cognitive Orientation Approach on Daily Occupational Performance" and "Ayres Sensory Integration Therapy" followed up for about 10 weeks. - The control group will be given "Ayres Sensory Integration Therapy" followed up for about 10 weeks. - After 10 weeks, the results between the two groups will be compared. - After the second evaluation, both groups will be followed for 1 month and the same evaluations will be repeated. Researchers will compare intervention and control groups to see executive functions and occupational participation.
There are easily accessible and safe strategies, such as physical exercise, that can contribute to reducing depressive symptoms and to the preservation of physical and executive function in elderly women. Resistance exercise is defined as performing in water or on land. It involves exercise using a constant load or a uniform weight regardless of the training program. There are many types of resistance exercise equipment, including free weights, pneumatic resistance machines, and elastic bands. Specifically, eccentric muscle contraction occurs when the force applied to the muscle exceeds the momentary force produced by the muscle itself, resulting in forced lengthening of the muscle-tendon system while contracting. To date, a body of evidence has been found derived from randomized controlled trials, which have compared the effectiveness of aerobic, resistance exercise and Pilates in decreasing depressive symptoms and improving physical and executive function in elderly women. Although there are experimental studies demonstrating the effectiveness of physical exercise, the effect of short-term eccentrically reinforced strength training on depressive symptoms, physical and executive function in sedentary older women is unclear. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the safety and effect of eccentrically reinforced resistance exercise vs. traditional resistance training on depressive symptoms, physical and executive function, quality of life, different manifestations of muscle strength, body composition, vital signs and abdominal circumference, risk of falls, quality of sleep sedentary older women for 8 weeks.
Although some benefits of dance have been described for motor and cognitive skills, the effects on individuals with dyslexia are unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of creative dance training on the motor and executive skills of children with dyslexia.