Using Technology to Promote Mental Acuity
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- University of Pennsylvania
- Enrollment
- 600
- Locations
- 2
- Primary Endpoint
- Number of activities completed
Study Overview
Brief Summary
The study plans to test the effectiveness of behavioral economics based incentives to promote the daily use of computer programs designed to improve memory and mental acuity. Subjects will be recruited from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The primary objective is to determine the impact of structured financial incentives on the number of computer-based cognitive exercises completed during a 3 month intervention period.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 55 Years to 80 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- •55-80 years old
Exclusion Criteria
- •Unable to read or understand the informed consent form
Arms & Interventions
Control
Given access to mental exercises but receives no rewards for use.
Intervention: No incentives (Behavioral)
Atomistic
Each individual is awarded for his or her individual participation
Intervention: Financial incentives (Behavioral)
Altruistic
Participants are paired and rewarded according to the other individual's participation.
Intervention: Financial incentives (Behavioral)
Team-based
Teams compete against each other and receive rewards according to relative participation.
Intervention: Financial incentives (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Number of activities completed
Time Frame: 6 weeks
The number of memory and cognition enhancement activities played per day using the study provided software will be measured.
Performance on activities completed
Time Frame: 6 weeks
Performance is measured by a scoring algorithm designed to estimate levels of memory, attention, cognitive control and processing speed.
Secondary Outcomes
No secondary outcomes reported