Cognitive Training for Face Blindness

Overseen By Joseph M DeGutis, Ph.D.

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Harvard Medical School

Disqualifiers: Neurological disorders, Psychiatric disorders, Substance dependence, others

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

Approved in 1 Jurisdiction This treatment is already approved in other countries

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

Duration: 6-8 weeks

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial tests a new cognitive training program aimed at helping individuals with face blindness, also known as developmental prosopagnosia, improve their face recognition abilities. The program, called repetition lag training, is designed to enhance these skills. Participants will either engage in the new training or join a waitlist control group for comparison. It suits adults who have consistently struggled with recognizing faces in everyday life but do not have major neurological conditions. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity to contribute to research that could lead to new strategies for improving face recognition.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial does not specify if you need to stop taking your current medications. However, if you have ADHD, you must have been on the same medication for the past 6 months to participate.

What prior data suggests that this cognitive training intervention is safe?

Research has shown that Repetition Lag Training safely improves facial recognition. This training employs spaced repetition, spreading learning sessions over time to enhance memory. Previous studies have reported no harmful effects from this training. It is designed to assist individuals with developmental prosopagnosia, a condition that makes recognizing faces difficult. As this study is not part of the typical clinical trial phases, it indicates that the training is not a new drug but a method likely considered safe. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the cognitive training for face blindness because it introduces a novel way to tackle the condition through Repetition Lag Training. Unlike traditional approaches, which might focus on compensatory strategies or therapy for coping with prosopagnosia, this training targets the brain's processing patterns directly. By emphasizing the timing and sequence of recognizing faces, it aims to improve recognition abilities at a cognitive level. This innovative approach could provide a more effective and long-lasting solution for individuals struggling with face blindness.

What evidence suggests that this cognitive training is effective for face blindness?

Research has shown that repetition lag training, one of the treatments in this trial, can improve memory and the ability to recognize faces. This training uses spaced repetition, spreading learning sessions over time, to enhance memory and recognition skills. Studies have found positive results, particularly for individuals with developmental prosopagnosia, or face blindness, who experience milder perception issues. Repetition lag training has also proven helpful for other memory problems, such as those seen after a stroke, suggesting its effectiveness for face recognition difficulties. These findings support the idea that this training can help individuals with face blindness recognize faces better. Participants in this trial may receive holistic face training combined with repetition lag training, while others will be in a waitlist control group. ^{2 5 6 7 8}

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for adults aged 18-65 with Developmental Prosopagnosia, a condition where they have lifelong difficulties recognizing faces, impacting daily life. They must perform poorly on specific face recognition tests. Excluded are those with substance dependence, significant neurological disorders, sensory impairments, severe psychiatric conditions or recent participation in other interventions.

Inclusion Criteria

I have always had trouble recognizing faces, not due to an event like a stroke, and I am between 18-65 years old.

You have had trouble recognizing faces for your whole life, and it affects your daily activities.

You do not perform well on tests that measure how well you recognize famous faces and remember faces.

Exclusion Criteria

People with ADHD can participate if they have been taking the same medication for the last 6 months.

You rely on alcohol or other drugs to get through the day.

I have been part of a drug or behavior study in the last 6 months.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants undergo cognitive training intervention targeting face recollection, including repetition lag training

6-8 weeks

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for improvements in face recognition abilities

4 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Repetition Lag Training

Trial Overview The study is testing a cognitive training program designed to improve the ability to remember and recognize faces in people with Developmental Prosopagnosia. The effectiveness of this 'repetition lag training' will be measured against standard face recognition tests.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: holistic face training + repetition lag training Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Group II: waitlist control Active Control 1 Intervention

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Harvard Medical School

Lead Sponsor

Trials

30

Recruited

40,700+

Harvard Medical School (HMS and HSDM)

Lead Sponsor

Trials

208

Recruited

1,421,000+

Boston VA Research Institute, Inc.

Lead Sponsor

Trials

24

Recruited

10,800+

Published Research Related to This Trial

A specialized training procedure helped a cortically blind adolescent girl with anoxic brain damage to retrain her ability to identify colors and shapes, achieving near perfect performance in under 10 sessions.

The training showed a specific effect on the targeted skills, as her ability to identify visual and tactile stimuli not included in the training did not improve, indicating that the training was effective for the specific tasks practiced.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Training of color and form identification in cortical blindness: a case study. Merrill, MK., Kewman, DG.[2018]

Visually impaired (VI) subjects showed greater improvements in search accuracy and speed after 5 days of feature search training compared to age-matched normal vision (NV) controls, indicating effective training for low vision rehabilitation.

Both VI and NV groups had similar proportional gains from training, suggesting that feature search training is equally beneficial for enhancing visual search skills in individuals with low vision.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Visual search training in subjects with severe to profound low vision. Liu, L., Kuyk, T., Fuhr, P.[2022]

In an fMRI study with participants memorizing 120 novel faces, spaced learning significantly improved recognition memory compared to massed learning, indicating its effectiveness in enhancing memory retention.

The study found that spaced learning reduced neural repetition suppression in the fusiform gyrus, suggesting that this reduction is a key mechanism by which spaced learning enhances memory encoding and retrieval.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Spaced learning enhances subsequent recognition memory by reducing neural repetition suppression. Xue, G., Mei, L., Chen, C., et al.[2021]

Perceptual learning significantly improved face discrimination and recognition in older adults with age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), with a 32.7% reduction in the threshold size for face discrimination and a 22.4% reduction for face recognition after just 5 days of training.

These improvements were achieved independently of changes in visual acuity or other visual factors, suggesting that the brain's ability to adapt and improve face-processing skills can be harnessed for rehabilitation in individuals with ARMD.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Effect of Perceptual Learning on Face Recognition in Individuals with Central Vision Loss. Haris, EM., McGraw, PV., Webb, BS., et al.[2021]

Visual restorative training in 12 patients with cerebral blindness resulted in a reduction of visual field defects for all participants, indicating its potential effectiveness in improving visual function after stroke.

Nine out of the twelve patients showed significant improvements in daily life activities as measured by Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), suggesting that this training not only enhances visual fields but also positively impacts daily functioning.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Visual daily functioning of chronic stroke patients assessed by goal attainment scaling after visual restorative training: an explorative study. Bergsma, D., Baars-Elsinga, A., Sibbel, J., et al.[2019]

A new training method using stimulus exposure and identity priming significantly improved peripheral reading in 21 young adults, showing effectiveness without the need for strenuous character recognition tasks.

The training led to improvements in reading speed and reduced visual crowding, with benefits that can last for at least 3 months, making it a promising option for low-vision rehabilitation.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Training peripheral vision to read: Using stimulus exposure and identity priming. Yu, D.[2023]

Spaced learning significantly enhances long-term memory retention, especially for face-name associations, which are challenging to remember as we age.

Both younger and older adults benefit from spaced training over longer retention intervals, although older adults may initially struggle more with learning compared to younger adults.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Preservation of long-term memory in older adults using a spaced learning paradigm. Caffrey, M., Commins, S.[2023]

Divided attention during the study phase significantly reduced 'remember' responses, indicating that focused attention is crucial for recollective experiences in recognizing novel faces.

The type of repetition used in studying faces affects memory awareness: massed repetition increases feelings of familiarity ('know' responses') but decreases recollective experiences ('remember' responses'), while spaced repetition has the opposite effect, enhancing recollection.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Functional aspects of recollective experience in face recognition. Parkin, AJ., Gardiner, JM., Rosser, R.[2004]

The study found that the repetition deficit in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) tasks is due to retrieval failure rather than perceptual failure, meaning that repeated items are stored in memory but not accessible for recall.

Participants were able to report repeated items when prompted with a retrieval probe, indicating that the information was available in memory but not easily retrievable during free recall.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Repetition deficit in rapid-serial-visual-presentation displays: encoding failure or retrieval failure? Armstrong, IT., Mewhort, DJ.[2019]

22-week-old infants' ability to recognize previously seen faces is significantly affected by the similarity of intervening images they see during the retention period, with highly similar faces causing more recognition failures.

However, this forgetting is temporary; infants can recover their recognition ability after longer intervals or with brief re-exposure to the familiar face, indicating that memory can be reinforced even after interference.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Infant recognition memory: studies in forgetting. Fagan, JF.[2019]

Citations

1. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04799340

Computer-based Training of Face Recollection to Improve ... This study will examine the effectiveness of a cognitive training intervention targeting face recollection, repetition lag training, at improving face ...

2. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/phase-prosopagnosia-2-2021-daad1

Cognitive Training for Face Blindness · Info for Participants Repetition Lag Training is unique because it uses spaced repetition, which involves spreading out learning sessions over time, to improve memory and recognition ...

3. researchgate.net researchgate.net/publication/310783007_Repetition-lag_memory_training_is_feasible_in_patients_with_chronic_stroke_including_those_with_memory_problems

Repetition-lag memory training is feasible in patients with ... Conclusions: These findings show that repetition-lag memory training is a possible approach with patients with stroke to enhance recollection. Further research ...

4. jmir.org jmir.org/2023/1/e43607/

Serious Games for Learning Among Older Adults With ... A meta-analysis of 45% (5/11) of the RCTs revealed that serious games are effective in improving verbal learning among older adults with ...

5. jov.arvojournals.org jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2792460

Can face recognition/recollection in developmental ... Repetition-lag training can successfully improve face recollection and face perception/memory, particularly for DPs with less perceptual impairment.

6. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04799340

Computer-based Training of Face Recollection to Improve ... This study will examine the effectiveness of a cognitive training intervention targeting face recollection, repetition lag training, at improving face ...

7. withpower.com withpower.com/trial/phase-prosopagnosia-3-2023-30485

Face Recognition Training for Face Blindness The goal of this study is to test the effectiveness of two experimental training programs aimed at improving face processing in developmental prosopagnosia ...

8. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4122168/

Face processing improvements in prosopagnosia Clinicians and researchers have widely believed that face processing cannot be improved in prosopagnosia. Though more than a dozen reported studies have ...