Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29189046›Full record

ArticleGames for health journal2018

The Feasibility and Potential Impact of Brain Training Games on Cognitive and Emotional Functioning in Middle-Aged Adults.

Paula M McLaughlin, Ashley F Curtis, Laura M Branscombe-Caird, Janna K Comrie, Susan J E Murtha

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Games for health journal, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.4field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Paula M McLaughlin1 Ontario Neurodegenerative Disease Research Initiative (ONDRI), Western University , London, Canada .
Ashley F Curtis2 York University , Department of Psychology, Toronto, Canada .
Laura M Branscombe-Caird2 York University , Department of Psychology, Toronto, Canada .
Janna K Comrie2 York University , Department of Psychology, Toronto, Canada .
Susan J E Murtha2 York University , Department of Psychology, Toronto, Canada .
York University · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo investigate whether a commercially available brain training program is feasible to use with a middle-aged population and has a potential impact on cognition and emotional well-being (proof of concept).

methodFourteen participants (ages 46-55) completed two 6-week training conditions using a crossover (counterbalanced) design: (1) experimental brain training condition and (2) active control "find answers to trivia questions online" condition. A comprehensive neurocognitive battery and a self-report measure of depression and anxiety were administered at baseline (first time point, before training) and after completing each training condition (second time point at 6 weeks, and third time point at 12 weeks). Cognitive composite scores were calculated for participants at each time point.

resultsStudy completion and protocol adherence demonstrated good feasibility of this brain training protocol in healthy middle-aged adults. Exploratory analyses suggested that brain training was associated with neurocognitive improvements related to executive attention, as well as improvements in mood.

conclusionOverall, our findings suggest that brain training programs are feasible in middle-aged cohorts. We propose that brain training games may be linked to improvements in executive attention and affect by promoting cognitive self-efficacy in middle-aged adults.

Indexed as

CognitionSoftware DesignFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNeuropsychological TestsOntarioVideo GamesAgingAnxietyBrain trainingExecutive cognition

Identifiers

PMID29189046
PMCPMC5797320
OpenAlexW2772629679

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.