Can brain training games help improve thinking skills in children and teens with autism?
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN13706581 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN13706581 |
- Submission date
- 24/08/2025
- Registration date
- 26/08/2025
- Last edited
- 26/08/2025
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Overall study status
- Ongoing
- Condition category
- Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
This study is looking at whether a type of brain training called “dual n-back” can help improve thinking and memory skills in children and teenagers with autism. People with autism often find it harder to plan, focus, and remember things. The training involves a computer game that challenges memory and attention. Researchers want to find out if doing this training can lead to improvements not just in memory, but also in other areas like problem-solving and emotional control.
Who can participate?
Children and teenagers aged 10 to 15 years who have been diagnosed with autism (including Asperger’s syndrome) can take part. People cannot join if they have serious mental health conditions, intellectual disabilities, sensory impairments, serious medical illnesses, or recent substance misuse.
What does the study involve?
Participants will be randomly placed into one of two groups. One group will do the dual n-back brain training, and the other group will do a simpler version of the task. Both groups will use a computer program for 2 weeks, doing short daily sessions. Researchers will measure thinking and memory skills before and after the training, and again 3 months later. Parents will help monitor how often their child uses the program.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The training may help improve memory and thinking skills, which could make everyday tasks easier. There are no known risks from doing the computer-based training, but it may be tiring or frustrating for some children. All data will be kept private and secure.
Where is the study run from?
The study is being run from the child and adolescent psychiatric outpatient clinic at Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
August 2024 to September 2025.
Who is funding the study?
No external funding has been received. The training program is provided by the Institute of Psychology at the Chinese Academy of Science.
Who is the main contact?
Dr Novia Mozart Kong , noviamozartkong@gmail.com
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
2/F, Block J, Department of Psychiatry, Queen Mary Hospital
Hong Kong
-
Hong Kong
| Phone | +852 67385470 |
|---|---|
| nmkong@hku.hk |
Study information
| Study design | Single-center interventional double-blinded randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Hospital |
| Study type | Treatment |
| Participant information sheet | 47885 Information sheet and consent form Chinese Version v4 26July2024.pdf |
| Scientific title | Transfer effects of dual N-back training in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: a randomized controlled trial |
| Study acronym | TEDNB |
| Study objectives | Primary objective: To examine the impact of dual n-back training on the near transfer effect on WM performance in children and adolescents with ASD. Secondary objectives: 1. To assess the far transfer effects of dual n-back training on cognitive functioning in children and adolescents with ASD. 2. To investigate the long-term maintenance of any observed training effects in the follow-up period after the completion of the dual n-back intervention. 3. To explore potential moderators and mediators of the training effects in children and adolescents with ASD. Null hypothesis in this study: There will be no significant impact of dual n-back training on the near transfer effect on WM performance in children and adolescents with ASD. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 01/08/2024, HKU/ HA HKW Institutional Review Board (Room 901, 9/F, Administrative Block, Queen Mary Hospital, 102 Pokfulam Road, -, Hong Kong; +852 22553923; hkwirb@ha.org.hk), ref: UW 24-422 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Working memory improvement in children with autism spectrum disorder |
| Intervention | Dual n-back training is a cognitive training task designed to target and improve working memory abilities specifically. It has been utilised in research studies and has shown promising results in enhancing working memory performance in children and adolescents. During the dual n-back training, participants will engage in a computer-based task that requires them to simultaneously remember and recall two different types of stimuli, including spatial and auditory stimuli. The training sessions will be conducted daily for 2 consecutive weeks. Each training session would involve five blocks with a 10+n trial in each block. The 2-back task would be utilised as the experimental intervention, while the 0-back task would be the control group. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (dual 2-back training) or the active control group (0-back task) using a computer-generated randomisation sequence. A block randomisation method (with varying block sizes of 6) was used to ensure balanced group sizes. The randomisation sequence was generated using computerised random number generation. The sequence was prepared by an independent statistician not involved in recruitment, assessment, or intervention delivery. To prevent selection bias, allocation concealment was maintained using digital folders. The folder contains the group assignment (intervention or control) corresponding to the pre-generated randomisation sequence. Folders were only opened after baseline assessments were completed and the participant was formally enrolled in the trial. After obtaining informed consent and confirming eligibility, participants underwent baseline assessments. The following digital folder was opened in sequence to reveal the group assignment. The person handling randomisation did not participate in post-intervention evaluations. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Working Memory improvement by dual n-back task, digit span, Corsi Block Tapping Test and Sternberg Test at baseline, immediately post-intervention (i.e. 2 weeks) and 3 months |
| Secondary outcome measures | Executive Function and behavioral improvement by Operation Span Task, Go No-Go Test, Tower of London, BRIEF and CBCL at baseline, immediately post-intervention (i.e. 2 weeks) and 3 months |
| Overall study start date | 01/08/2024 |
| Completion date | 30/09/2025 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Patient |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Lower age limit | 10 Years |
| Upper age limit | 15 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 66 |
| Total final enrolment | 69 |
| Key inclusion criteria | 1. Age range of 10-15 years 2. Diagnosis of DSM-5 ASD, or DSM-4 Asperger’s syndrome or ICD-10 Childhood autism, atypical autism or Asperger syndrome |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. Diagnosed with comorbid active mood or psychotic disorder 2. Diagnosed with mental retardation 3. Visual or hearing impairment 4. Serious medical illness 5. Substance misuse in the past 6 months |
| Date of first enrolment | 01/08/2024 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/09/2025 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Hong Kong
Study participating centre
Hong Kong
-
Hong Kong
Sponsor information
Government
Hospital Authority Building, 147B Argyle Street, Kowloon
Hong Kong
-
Hong Kong
| Phone | +852 23006555 |
|---|---|
| enquiry@ha.org.hk | |
| Website | http://www.ha.org.hk/visitor/ha_index.asp?Content_ID=0&Lang=ENG&Dimension=100&Ver=HTML |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/05sn8t512 |
Funders
Funder type
Other
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 30/09/2026 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Available on request |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be available upon request form. (Contact name: Novia Kong, Email address: noviamozartkong@gmail.com) |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participant information sheet | version 4 | 26/07/2024 | 26/08/2025 | No | Yes |
| Protocol file | 26/08/2025 | No | No |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
26/08/2025: Trial's existence confirmed by HKU/ HA HKW Institutional Review Board.
