Task Practice Interventions for Executive Function

Overseen By David Badre, PhD

Age: 18 - 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Brown University

Must not be taking: Brain related medications

Disqualifiers: Neurological, Psychiatric, Pregnancy, Implants, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 12

Duration: 3 weeks

60 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial explores how practicing multitasking can alter brain function, especially in areas involved in decision-making and control. Participants will either practice two tasks simultaneously through the Multitask Practice Intervention (MPI) or practice each task separately with the Single-task Practice Intervention (SPI) to determine which method more effectively enhances multitasking skills. The study seeks healthy individuals with normal vision who are right-handed and have no history of neurological or psychiatric issues. As an unphased trial, it offers participants the opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking research on cognitive function and multitasking.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial excludes participants who use brain-related medications, so you may need to stop taking such medications to participate.

What prior data suggests that these interventions are safe for participants?

Research has shown that activities like multitasking and brain training, such as the Multitask Practice Intervention (MPI), can enhance skills like planning and problem-solving. Other studies have found that these types of training boost executive functions, the mental skills used to manage tasks.

While specific safety data for MPI is not available, multitask training is generally considered safe because it involves practicing tasks rather than taking medication or undergoing medical procedures. Similar studies have reported no negative effects.

The Single-task Practice Intervention (SPI) is also safe, focusing on task practice without involving any invasive procedures. Overall, both interventions serve as exercises for the brain and are expected to be well-tolerated by participants. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the Task Practice Interventions for Executive Function because they aim to explore how different practice methods can boost brain function. The Multitask Practice Intervention (MPI) is unique because it focuses on improving executive function by training individuals to manage multiple tasks simultaneously, which could enhance cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills. On the other hand, the Single-task Practice Intervention (SPI) zeroes in on strengthening concentration and task completion by honing in on one activity at a time. By comparing these two approaches, researchers hope to uncover which method is more effective in enhancing overall brain performance and could lead to more tailored cognitive training strategies.

What evidence suggests that this trial's interventions could be effective for improving multitasking behavior?

This trial will compare the effects of Multitask Practice Intervention (MPI) and Single-task Practice Intervention (SPI) on executive function. Research shows that practicing multiple tasks simultaneously can enhance executive function, which involves the brain's ability to manage tasks and make decisions. Studies have found that multitasking training can boost executive function and fitness in older adults with diabetes. Another study found that multitasking training can provide long-term benefits for executive function. Conversely, research indicates that practicing one task at a time can also improve executive function and balance. However, some studies suggest that training with two tasks at once might lead to greater improvements in executive function than focusing on a single task. Overall, both multitasking and single-task practices offer potential benefits for enhancing executive function. ^{4 5 6 7 8}

Who Is on the Research Team?

David Badre, PhD

Principal Investigator

Brown University

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for individuals with ADHD, healthy subjects interested in executive function, and those who can perform tasks based on different rules. Participants will be trained to multitask or single-task over multiple days.

Inclusion Criteria

My vision is normal or corrected to normal.

Exclusion Criteria

I am taking medication for a brain condition.

Injury to the participant by a metallic object or foreign body (e.g., BB, bullet, shrapnel, etc.)

Left handedness

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 week

1 visit (phone call)

Baseline Assessment

Baseline evaluations of multitasking behavior and neural representations in lateral PFC with fMRI

4 weeks

4 visits (in-person)

Treatment

Participants receive either single-task or multitask practice treatment over multiple sessions

3 weeks

3 visits (in-person)

Endline Assessment

Endline evaluations of multitasking behavior and neural representations in lateral PFC with fMRI

4 weeks

4 visits (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in neural representations and multitasking behavior

4 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Multitask Practice Intervention (MPI)
• Single-task Practice Intervention (SPI)

Trial Overview The study tests how practicing multitasking versus single tasks affects the brain's task management. It measures changes in behavior and brain activity using psychological tests and fMRI before and after practice sessions.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: Multitask Practice Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Group II: Single Task Practice Active Control 1 Intervention

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Brown University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

480

Recruited

724,000+

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Collaborator

Trials

3,007

Recruited

2,852,000+

Published Research Related to This Trial

Cognitive-physical dual-task training significantly improved executive function in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, as evidenced by better performance on the Trail Making Test Part B compared to single-cognitive training.

The dual-task training also resulted in decreased activity in the prefrontal cortex during cognitive testing, suggesting a more efficient use of cognitive resources, although it did not translate to improvements in daily living activities.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of Cognitive-Physical Dual-Task Training on Executive Function and Activity in the Prefrontal Cortex of Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment. Park, JH.[2023]

The process-based multi-task adaptive cognitive training (P-bM-tACT) program significantly improved executive function and other cognitive domains in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) over a 10-week period, with effects maintained for 3 months after training.

The program was well-received, demonstrating a high adherence rate of 83.4%, indicating its acceptability as a viable intervention for enhancing cognitive function in the community.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Transferability and sustainability of process-based multi-task adaptive cognitive training in community-dwelling older adults with mild cognitive impairment: a randomized controlled trial. Zhao, X., Ji, C., Zhang, C., et al.[2023]

A self-instructional procedure that involved verbalizing plans before and during tasks significantly improved planning abilities and reduced off-task behaviors in a client with executive functioning impairments after a traumatic brain injury over an eight-week training period.

The training not only enhanced the client's self-control ratings in everyday behaviors but also demonstrated that these improvements could generalize to real-life situations with extended practice.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Planning disorder after closed head injury: a case study. Cicerone, KD., Wood, JC.[2019]

A study involving 84 healthy older adults showed that multi-domain cognitive training, which included inhibition, visuomotor function, and spatial navigation, led to greater improvements in attentional control compared to single-domain training over 50 sessions.

Participants with initially lower cognitive performance benefited the most from the training, and these improvements were maintained at a 6-month follow-up, suggesting that multi-domain training can effectively enhance cognitive functions important for daily life in older adults.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Multi-domain training enhances attentional control. Binder, JC., Martin, M., Zöllig, J., et al.[2019]

Practice in dual-task situations can significantly reduce performance impairment caused by interference between tasks, as certain cognitive processes become more automatic over time.

Improvements in dual-task performance are linked to enhanced executive control skills and better allocation of attention resources, allowing individuals to manage simultaneous tasks more effectively.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Mechanisms of Practice-Related Reductions of Dual-Task Interference with Simple Tasks: Data and Theory. Strobach, T., Torsten, S.[2020]

Dual-task (DT) training, which combines cognitive and motor tasks, shows potential benefits for improving physical and cognitive functions in children and adolescents, as evidenced by a review of seven studies involving 543 participants aged 4 to 14 years.

While some interventions demonstrated improvements in balance and cognitive performance, the results were inconsistent, highlighting the need for more structured training principles and higher-quality studies to better assess the effectiveness of DT training.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of cognitive-motor dual task training on cognitive and physical performance in healthy children and adolescents: A scoping review. Wollesen, B., Janssen, TI., Müller, H., et al.[2022]

In a study with 25 young adult participants, those who had limited practice on a speech task experienced significant dual-task interference when also performing a visuomotor task, indicating that practice amount affects task performance.

Participants who received extended practice showed minimal dual-task interference, suggesting that increased familiarity with a task can enhance performance even when multitasking.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Practice Mediates Bidirectional Dual-Task Interference When Performing a Novel Sequential Nonword Repetition Task. Whitfield, JA., Holdosh, SR.[2021]

The study reviews how training can optimize different types of executive functions, such as Shifting, Inhibition, Updating, and Dual tasking, which are crucial for performing complex tasks effectively.

It introduces the Efficient Task Instantiation (ETI) model, suggesting that practice enhances dual-task performance by improving how task information is organized in working memory, highlighting the cognitive mechanisms behind these improvements.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Practice-related optimization and transfer of executive functions: a general review and a specific realization of their mechanisms in dual tasks. Strobach, T., Salminen, T., Karbach, J., et al.[2021]

A new e-health device for assessing dual-tasking abilities in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients was tested on 184 individuals and proved reliable, allowing meaningful assessments in just 6 minutes.

The device's results correlated well with important clinical measures like disease severity and processing speed, making it a promising tool for routine neuropsychological evaluations in MS and potentially other neurological disorders.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

On the Reliability of Examining Dual-Tasking Abilities Using a Novel E-Health Device-A Proof of Concept Study in Multiple Sclerosis. Böttrich, N., Mückschel, M., Dillenseger, A., et al.[2020]

A 5-week cognitive-motor dual-tasking training program showed improvement in dual-task performance for individuals with acquired brain injury, particularly in a task that combined walking with a cognitive task, involving 19 participants in total (10 in the treatment group and 9 in the control group).

Participants reported a perceived improvement in their dual-tasking abilities in daily life, although the study had limitations such as a small sample size and lack of blinding, which may affect the reliability of the findings.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Walking and talking therapy: improving cognitive-motor dual-tasking in neurological illness. Evans, JJ., Greenfield, E., Wilson, BA., et al.[2009]

This meta-analysis of 49 studies involving older adults (over 60 years) found that process-based training for executive function and working memory significantly improved performance on both trained and near-transfer tasks compared to control groups.

While the training showed smaller far-transfer effects, these were still significant, indicating that such cognitive training can benefit older adults in various cognitive tasks, regardless of the type of training or duration.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Making working memory work: a meta-analysis of executive-control and working memory training in older adults. Karbach, J., Verhaeghen, P.[2022]

Metacognitive strategy instruction (MSI) has been shown to significantly improve everyday functional problems in young to middle-aged adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI), based on a systematic review of 15 studies, including 5 randomized control trials.

While immediate outcomes from MSI were better than control interventions, there was not enough data to assess long-term maintenance effects or to make recommendations for children or older adults with TBI.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Intervention for executive functions after traumatic brain injury: a systematic review, meta-analysis and clinical recommendations. Kennedy, MR., Coelho, C., Turkstra, L., et al.[2018]

Cognitive-motor dual-task training (DTT) and single-task cognitive training (STT) both showed improvements in different aspects of executive functions in participants over 65 years old, with DTT enhancing control and inhibition of reactions and STT improving abstract thinking and categorization.

Neither training method resulted in improvements in attention, indicating that while both types of training can benefit executive functions, they may not address attention-related challenges.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The cognitive and cognitive-motor training contribution to the improvement of different aspects of executive functions in healthy adults aged 65 years and above-A randomized controlled trial. Wiśniowska, J., Łojek, E., Chabuda, A., et al.[2022]

The multicontext approach effectively improved functional performance in an adult with executive dysfunction following a traumatic brain injury, even though there was no increase in self-awareness of deficits.

This case study highlights the importance of using varied contexts to help individuals generalize learned strategies, providing valuable insights for clinicians working with patients who have significant awareness and executive function challenges.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Application of the Multicontextual Approach in Promoting Learning and Transfer of Strategy Use in an Individual with TBI and Executive Dysfunction. Toglia, J., Goverover, Y., Johnston, MV., et al.[2014]

Citations

1. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7396621/

Effect of Process-Based Multi-Task Cognitive Training ... The program aimed to evaluate the effect of process-based multi-task cognitive training on executive function and further explore its long-term ...

2. journals.plos.org journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0290171

Immediate and short-term effects of single-task and motor ... Executive function was enhanced by single-task (acute aerobic exercise or cognitive training) and dual-task interventions.

3. nature.com nature.com/articles/s41598-022-26438-x

The association of executive functions and physical fitness ... The aim of the study was to examine the contribution and interrelationship between executive functions, motor coordinative fitness, and cardiovascular fitness ...

4. sciencedirect.com sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1043466625001486

Impact of home-based multi-task exercise training on ... Home-based multi-task exercise improved executive function, reduced IL-10 and TNF levels, and enhanced fitness in postmenopausal women with diabetes.

5. journalofcognition.org journalofcognition.org/articles/10.5334/joc.146

Cognitive-Postural Multitasking Training in Older Adults Our results indicate improved working-memory performance and reduced dual-task costs for both groups after the passive control period, but no training-specific ...

6. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06436209

Study Details | NCT06436209 | Cognitive Control & the ... This study is a single-center, randomized controlled trial designed to examine the effect of multitask practice on multitasking behavior, the geometry of neural ...

7. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/phase-multitasking-behavior-and-neural-representations-associated-with-multitasking-ability-2-2024-69d90

Task Practice Interventions for Executive Function Research suggests that interventions involving multitasking and cognitive training can improve executive functions, such as planning and problem-solving, ...

8. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9246115/

Effects of multitask training on cognition and motor control in ... The results showed that the training protocol resulted in no difference in the motor and cognitive function of people with SSD when before and ...