The TWIN-E Brain Training Trial: A waitlist controlled trial of computerised training for improving mental wellbeing in healthy twins

Impact of cognitive training on improving emotional and cognitive function and wellbeing: Testing predictors and moderators of treatment response in healthy twins.

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12614000257662

Acronym

TWIN-E (Twin Study in Wellbeing using Integrative Neuroscience of Emotion)

Enrollment

352

Registered

2014-03-11

Start date

2010-09-13

Completion date

2013-12-23

Last updated

2020-01-13

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

This project evaluates the effectiveness of a web-based cognitive training tool, MyBrainSolutions, in improving emotional and cognitive function over 30 days. The impact of the cognitive training on both trained and untrained real-world functions will be determined, as well as the minimum time commitment required to see improvement. By comparing identical to non-identical twins, a comparison of the relative impact of genetics versus environment in improving scores can be evaluated.

Interventions

MyBrainSolutions (www.mybrainsolutions.com) cognitive training intervention. Twin pairs are randomly assigned to either a training group or a waitlist control group. Participants in the training group are requested to register online, complete a web assessment, after which they receive their personal brain scores. They are then instructed to play the recommended cognitive games (suited to their profile) for 30 minutes, 2-3 times a week, over a period of 30 days. These participants are then asked to complete the web assessment again, following the 30 days of training. At the 30-day period, matched waitlist control participants are provided access to the web platform to complete their web assessment, and then are provided access to the training program. To encourage adherence, participants are contacted by phone and/or email on a fortnightly basis. The online program also sends out automated reminders prior to the 30-day assessment period, encouraging adherence. Log-in time and date, game type and playing duration data are automatically collected by the cognitive training program.

Study design

Allocation

Randomised controlled trial

Intervention model

Parallel

Primary purpose

Educational / counselling / training

Masking

Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 65 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

Healthy same-sex monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twins aged 18-65 years with pure European ancestry, and English as primary language.

Exclusion criteria

Current or lifetime psychiatric illness; History of stroke or neurological disorder; Genetic disorder; Brain injury (causing loss of consciousness for more than 10 minutes); Chronic and serious medical conditions (e.g., cancer, heart disease); Blood-borne illnesses; Drug/Alcohol substance abuse; Sensory impairments to hearing, hand movement, or vision not corrected by glasses/lenses.

Outcome results