Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32002011›Full record

ArticleJournal of central nervous system disease2020

Effects of Home-Based Working Memory Training on Visuo-Spatial Working Memory in Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Kathrin Giehl, Anja Ophey, Paul Reker, Sarah Rehberg, Jochen Hammes, Michael T Barbe, Nahid Zokaei, Carsten Eggers, Masud Husain, Elke Kalbe and 1 more

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

Article in Journal of central nervous system disease, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.1field-weighted citation impact, top 24% 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. The cerebellum beyond motor control: cognitive dysfunction in spinocerebellar ataxias.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
    Review
  4. Review
  5. Article
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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

11 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Kathrin GiehlMultimodal Neuroimaging Group, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0092-5164
Anja OpheyDepartment of Medical Psychology, Neuropsychology and Gender Studies and Center for Neuropsychological Diagnostics and Intervention (CeNDI), University Hospital of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Paul RekerDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Sarah RehbergDepartment of Medical Psychology, Neuropsychology and Gender Studies and Center for Neuropsychological Diagnostics and Intervention (CeNDI), University Hospital of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Jochen HammesMultimodal Neuroimaging Group, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Michael T BarbeDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Nahid ZokaeiOxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Carsten EggersDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital of Marburg, Faculty of Medicine, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
Masud HusainNuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Elke KalbeDepartment of Medical Psychology, Neuropsychology and Gender Studies and Center for Neuropsychological Diagnostics and Intervention (CeNDI), University Hospital of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Thilo van EimerenMultimodal Neuroimaging Group, Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
University of Cologne · DEUniversity of Oxford · GBPhilipps University of Marburg · DE

Funding

Wellcome Trust
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCognitive impairment is a very frequent and severe nonmotor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). Early intervention in this at-risk group for cognitive decline may be crucial for long-term preservation of cognitive functions. Computerized working memory training (WMT) has been proven beneficial in non-PD patient populations, but such evidence is still needed for patients with PD.

objectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the effect of WMT on visuo-spatial working memory (WM) in cognitively unimpaired patients with PD.

methodsA single-blind randomized controlled trial encompassing 76 patients with PD but no cognitive impairment according to level II diagnostic criteria was conducted. Thirty-seven patients engaged in home-based adaptive WMT 5 times per week for a period of 5 weeks, whereas the remaining patients were in the waiting list arm of the study (control group [CG]). Working memory performance was evaluated using a computerized task before and after intervention and at 14-week follow-up, allowing to quantify the precision of WM on a continuous scale, ie, to test not only if an item was remembered but also how well the location of this item was retained.

resultsCoincidently, the WMT group showed slightly worse WM performance compared with the CG at baseline, which was ameliorated after WMT. This training-induced effect remained stable until follow-up.

conclusionPatients showing relatively low WM performance, despite not formally diagnosable as Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), seem to benefit from home-based WMT. Thus, WMT could potentially be implemented in future trials as a time- and cost-efficient route to counteract subtle cognitive changes in early disease stages.

trial registrationGerman Clinical Trial Register (drks.de, DRKS00009379).

Indexed as

executive functionIdiopathic Parkinson’s diseasenonpharmacologic interventionrandomized controlled trialworking memoryworking memory training

Identifiers

PMID32002011
PMCPMC6966247
OpenAlexW3000161658

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.