Speed of Processing Training in Patients With Parkinson's Disease and Healthy Older Adults

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Parkinson's Disease

• Registration Number: NCT02929758
• Lead Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham

Brief Summary

The purpose of this prospective, within-subject randomized cross-over design study is to determine if a computer training program (Speed of Processing Training - SOPT) improves safe pedestrian behavior in patients with Parkinson's disease and in healthy older adults in a virtual reality pedestrian environment. Pedestrian injury poses significant risk to healthy older adults and patients with Parkinson's disease. Several age-related changes, including slowing of visual processing speed, increase risky pedestrian behavior. This study will determine if SOPT improves pedestrian behavior in patients with Parkinson's disease and healthy older adults and evaluate the persistence of the SOPT training effects.

Detailed Description

Pedestrian injury poses significant risk to healthy older adults and patients with Parkinson's disease. Several age-related changes, including slowing of visual processing speed, increase risky pedestrian behavior. Persons with Parkinson's disease (PD) are at even higher risk of pedestrian injury due to motor and non-motor symptoms. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor symptoms including slowness, tremor, stiffness, and balance problems. Visual processing speed abnormalities, anxiety, and cognitive problems are common non-motor symptoms.

The Useful Field of View (UFOV®) test is a measure of visual processing speed. The UFOV® test is performed on a touch-screen computer that displays objects in the central and peripheral visual fields for brief durations. Successful performance on the test requires integration of visual sensory information and higher-order cognitive processing. Our own research has shown that the UFOV® test performance correlates with pedestrian behavior in PD patients.

Speed of Processing Training (SOPT) is a computer-based training that uses visual exercises to improve cognitive processing. The training involves identifying and localizing visual information quickly in increasingly demanding visual displays. SOPT has been demonstrated to improve performance on the UFOV test in healthy older adults and PD patients. It is hypothesized that SOPT training will improve pedestrian safety in healthy older adults and PD patients.

In the proposed study, we will use a within-subject, randomized, controlled, cross-over design to evaluate if a computer training program (Speed of Processing Training - SOPT) improves safe pedestrian behavior in patients with Parkinson's disease and in healthy older adults in a virtual reality pedestrian environment and if the effects of training persist long-term.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-02
• Study First Submitted: 2016-10-07
• Study First Submitted QC: 2016-10-07
• Study First Posted: 2016-10-11
• Primary Completion: 2018-02
• Study Completion: 2018-02
• Status Verified: 2018-03
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-03-22
• Last Update Posted: 2018-03-26

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 88

Inclusion Criteria

Not provided

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Time to contact	3 months	Difference in time to contact between baseline and immediate post-training assessments in PD and healthy controls

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Vigilance	3 months	Differences in vigilance as measured by psychomotor vigilance task between baseline and immediate post-training assessments in PD and healthy controls
Useful Field of View (UFOV)	3 months	Difference in UFOV total score between baseline and immediate post-training assessments in PD and healthy controls
Executive function (MoCA, Trails, Stroop)	3 months	Difference in MoCA, Trails, and Stroop between baseline and immediate post-training assessments in PD and healthy controls

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Alabama at Birmingham; 🇺🇸 Birmingham, Alabama, United States