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CompletedNCT02559700Updated Nov 7, 2019

Online Brain Training Intervention for Over 50s

An interventional study of Brain training programme in Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment, sponsored by King's College London. Completed. Open to participants aged 50 Years to 110 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-11-07.

Sponsored by King's College London · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
4,387
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
50 Years to 110 Years
Sex
All
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Study summary

This study is an open trial investigating the long-term use of an online brain training programme for adults over 50. It will determine whether there is sustained benefit to cognition, and whether this group can be engaged in this form of intervention over a period of 12 months.

Read the detailed description

This study will evaluate an optimised brain training programme to determine whether it is engaging for older adults and whether it results in improvement or maintenance of cognition over a 12 month period.

The Brain Training intervention

The programme is an updated version of the original 'Brain Test Britain' intervention, which was successfully evaluated in a large previous trial. It consists of a series of games or tests, completed on a computer. Each test is designed to target the participants' reasoning and problem-solving ability, for example by asking them to balance weights on a see-saw or select the 'odd-one-out' from a series of shapes. As the participants progress over the course of the study they will receive increasingly more challenging versions of each test, depending on their performance. The intervention has been updated from the original to improve engagement through improved visuals, more intelligent difficulty setting and a more engaging delivery platform.

The research delivery platform: PROTECT

A novel infrastructure resource has been developed at King's College London within the Maudsley Biomedical Research Unit for Dementia (BRU-D), which provides the opportunity to deliver the intervention to large numbers of older adults. The Platform for Research Online to investigate Cognition and Genetics in Ageing (PROTECT) is an online research tool. PROTECT is currently recruiting a cohort of over 10,000 adults over 50 who are cognitively healthy or have early cognitive impairment. Participants provide demographic and lifestyle information and will complete a battery of validated cognitive assessments annually. The focus of all research conducted through PROTECT is on the prevention of dementia and risk reduction. The optimised brain training intervention will be delivered through this platform. PROTECT has ethical approval from the NHS Research Ethics Service Committee for London Bridge (Ref: 13/LO/1578).

Study Design

Design: 12-month open online clinical trial Participants: 5000 adults over 50 Setting: Intervention delivered at home, online through the PROTECT website

Recruitment

Recruitment will be achieved through the PROTECT site through a national advertisement strategy. This will be accomplished through partnerships with the media and third sector. All participants registered on PROTECT will be invited to take part and provided with the information sheet. Participants will consent through the secure online procedure on the PROTECT site.

02

Conditions studied

  • Dementia
  • Mild Cognitive Impairment

Keywords

  • Healthy Ageing
03

In context

Cognitive Dysfunction

3,843 studies on the registry are indexed under Cognitive Dysfunction; 1,100 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 4,387 is above the median of 65 across 2,808 interventional studies indexed under Cognitive Dysfunction.

Browse Cognitive Dysfunction studies →

Lead sponsor

King's College London is the lead sponsor of 506 studies on the registry; 125 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
50 Years to 110 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Over 50,
  • Have access to a computer and the internet
  • Registered as a participant on the PROTECT website

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Established diagnosis of dementia
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Prevention
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
4,387 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Brain training programme

    Participants will complete a package of online brain training games focusing on reasoning and problem solving. The intervention will be accessed via a computer. There is no minimum or maximum dosage but participants will be recommended to complete the intervention five times a week. The package takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, depending on individual performance.

    Behavioral: Brain training programme

Interventions

  • BehavioralBrain training programme

    An online package of brain training programmes

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in reasoning ability as measured by the Baddeley Grammatical Reasoning

    Time frame: 12 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Change in visual memory and learning as measured by the Paired Associate Learning Test

    Time frame: 12 months

  2. Change in reaction time as measured by the Simple and Choice Reaction Test

    Time frame: 12 months

  3. Change in spatial working memory as measured by the Spatial Working Memory Test

    Time frame: 12 months

  4. Change in ability to complete day-to-day activities as measured by the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living scale (part of the Home Care Minimum Dataset)

    Time frame: 12 months

07

Study locations

No study locations are listed for this record.

08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Nov 7, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02559700
Lead sponsor
King's College London
Collaborators
Alzheimer's Society, Imperial College London
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 24, 2015
Start date
Nov 2015
Primary completion
Mar 31, 2018
Completion
Mar 31, 2019
Last update
Nov 7, 2019

Study contacts

Anne Corbett, PhD
principal investigator · King's College London

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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