Blind
Conditions
Brief summary
This study is designed to see if doing regular training on a spatial imagery task leads to improvements in the ability to do the trained spatial imagery task and in the ability to get around in everyday activities.
Detailed description
The investigators will recruit 40 blind participants, randomized by the investigators' CVNR statistician into two groups. One group will undergo the experimental intervention (spatial cognitive training) and the other will undergo a control intervention involving letter-number matching. The participants will include women and minorities in proportion to the demographics of the Veteran population attending the Atlanta VA.
Interventions
OTHERSpatial Training
Spatial Training using a 5x5 grid
OTHERLetter number matching
Letter number matching
Sponsors
VA Office of Research and Development
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Intervention model description
Spatial Training group and Control group
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
50 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Inability to perceive visual stimuli, i.e. no light perception, with stable visual loss over the past year * The investigators anticipate that causes of blindness will be ocular, including: * glaucoma * diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration * the most common causes of blindness in Veterans * as well as possibly late-onset Leber's optic atrophy and ocular trauma (in the absence of TBI) * To minimize heterogeneity due to variations in age and the duration of visual loss, the investigators will restrict enrollment to Veterans and Non-Veterans over the age of 50 who lost light perception within the last 5 years, and who have completed standard O&M training. * From a practical standpoint, this also enables the investigators to focus on participants who can potentially benefit most from the proposed intervention.
Exclusion criteria
* Participants will be excluded if they have any neurological condition, such as: * TBI * history of blast exposure * stroke * brain tumors * epilepsy, etc. * Participants will also be excluded if MRI scanning is contra-indicated, e.g.: * due to an implanted device such as a pacemaker * or foreign bodies of ferromagnetic nature * Cognitive screening will be performed using the Repeatable Battery for Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS, Randolph, 1998) and participants with cognitive impairment will be excluded based on a score of 1.5 SD below the mean for the Verbal Memory Index. * The investigators will test participants' hearing using a validated screening questionnaire (Screening Version of the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly, HHIE-S, Wentry & Weinstein, 1983, Lichtenstein et al., 1988) followed by assessment of audiometric pure tone (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0 KHz) hearing thresholds in the CVNR sound booth. * Participants with more than mild hearing loss (HHIE score \>8 or audiometric thresholds \>40dB) will be excluded (Wentry & Weinstein, 1983; Wilson, 2009), given that the investigators are relying on audio cues. * The investigators will also exclude visually impaired Veterans who are dependent on a wheelchair or scooter for mobility, as they will not be able to take part in the real-world task.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Spatial Ability | 1 month | Ability to orient to where participants began at the beginning of task. Using a 5x5 grid on testing device, a 5x5 grid that the participant will have to walk, and a 5x5 grid during task in MRI. |
Countries
United States
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Training Group Spatial training
Spatial Training: Spatial Training using a 5x5 grid | 3 |
| Control Group Letter number matching
Letter number matching: Letter number matching | 3 |
| Total | 6 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Control Group | Total | Training Group |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Categorical <=18 years | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Age, Categorical >=65 years | 1 Participants | 2 Participants | 1 Participants |
| Age, Categorical Between 18 and 65 years | 2 Participants | 4 Participants | 2 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) American Indian or Alaska Native | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Asian | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Black or African American | 1 Participants | 3 Participants | 2 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) More than one race | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) Unknown or Not Reported | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race (NIH/OMB) White | 2 Participants | 3 Participants | 1 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 2 Participants | 4 Participants | 2 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 1 Participants | 2 Participants | 1 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 |
Outcome results
Primary
Spatial Ability
Ability to orient to where participants began at the beginning of task. Using a 5x5 grid on testing device, a 5x5 grid that the participant will have to walk, and a 5x5 grid during task in MRI.
Time frame: 1 month
Population: Study terminated early and not enough data collected to be able to run proper analysis. Some data lost due to machine malfunction. Statistics was not able to be performed due to lost data.