Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35900825›Full record

ArticleJMIR serious games2022

Speech Processing as a Far-Transfer Gauge of Serious Games for Cognitive Training in Aging: Randomized Controlled Trial of Web-Based Effectivate Training.

Gal Nitsan, Shai Baharav, Dalith Tal-Shir, Vered Shakuf, Boaz M Ben-David

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR serious games, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
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.

Gal Nitsan *Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8567-2823
Shai Baharav *Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC), Herzliya, Israel.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2527-5794
Dalith Tal-ShirBaruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC), Herzliya, Israel.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8276-0991
Vered ShakufDepartment of Communications Disorders, Achva Academic College, Arugot, Israel.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7055-7080
Boaz M Ben-DavidBaruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University (IDC), Herzliya, Israel.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0392-962X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe number of serious games for cognitive training in aging (SGCTAs) is proliferating in the market and attempting to combat one of the most feared aspects of aging-cognitive decline. However, the efficacy of many SGCTAs is still questionable. Even the measures used to validate SGCTAs are up for debate, with most studies using cognitive measures that gauge improvement in trained tasks, also known as near transfer. This study takes a different approach, testing the efficacy of the SGCTA-Effectivate-in generating tangible far-transfer improvements in a nontrained task-the Eye tracking of Word Identification in Noise Under Memory Increased Load (E-WINDMIL)-which tests speech processing in adverse conditions.

objectiveThis study aimed to validate the use of a real-time measure of speech processing as a gauge of the far-transfer efficacy of an SGCTA designed to train executive functions.

methodsIn a randomized controlled trial that included 40 participants, we tested 20 (50%) older adults before and after self-administering the SGCTA Effectivate training and compared their performance with that of the control group of 20 (50%) older adults. The E-WINDMIL eye-tracking task was administered to all participants by blinded experimenters in 2 sessions separated by 2 to 8 weeks.

resultsSpecifically, we tested the change between sessions in the efficiency of segregating the spoken target word from its sound-sharing alternative, as the word unfolds in time. We found that training with the SGCTA Effectivate improved both early and late speech processing in adverse conditions, with higher discrimination scores in the training group than in the control group (early processing: F

conclusionsThis study found the E-WINDMIL measure of speech processing to be a valid gauge for the far-transfer effects of executive function training. As the SGCTA Effectivate does not train any auditory task or language processing, our results provide preliminary support for the ability of Effectivate to create a generalized cognitive improvement. Given the crucial role of speech processing in healthy and successful aging, we encourage researchers and developers to use speech processing measures, the E-WINDMIL in particular, to gauge the efficacy of SGCTAs. We advocate for increased industry-wide adoption of far-transfer metrics to gauge SGCTAs.

Indexed as

agingcognitive agingcognitive gameseye trackingserious gamesspeech processingspoken language processingvisual world paradigm

Identifiers

PMID35900825
PMCPMC9400949

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Registered trials

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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.