The EpiCog Project: Understanding the Benefits of Cognitive Training for Patients with Epilepsy
CogniFit is excited to announce that our cognitive evaluation tools have been used as part of a promising new scientific study in Epilepsy. The EpiCog project was carried out by The ApoyoDravet Association, the Center for Cognitive Science of Nebrija University, and the company Impulso Cognitivo S.L., an organization dedicated to the development of tools for cognitive profiling of people with and without typical development.
The research team utilized tools developed by CogniFit Inc., to develop a research project to explore the benefits of precision cognitive training for the improvement of skills associated with executive functions in adults with different forms of epilepsy.
About The EPICOG Project
The EpiCog project began its scientific actions in December 2020 after a recruitment of interested people through different platforms and social units related to epilepsy and Dravet syndrome, thanks to the main impulse of the ApoyoDravet Association and, especially, of its Executive Director, Luismi Aras.
The initial selection of the sample that would participate in the blind randomized controlled trial began a scientific project led by Jon Andoni Duñabeitia, Director of the Center for Cognitive Science at Nebrija University, in which a research strategy was designed that would allow evaluating the benefits of cognitive training in a period of 4 months.
For this, and thanks to the agreement with the company Impulso Cognitivo S.L., chronometric tests were developed to assess the cognitive abilities associated with executive functions (specifically inhibition, working memory and cognitive flexibility) before and after the proposed interventions.
These psychometric tests were created after a thorough process of analysis of the scientific literature on the most affected cognitive processes in people with epilepsy and were used as pretest and posttest measures.
How was the Research Carried Out?
After completing the initial evaluation tests, the participants began an 8-week period of cognitive intervention through the tools of the company CogniFit Inc., thanks to the commitment acquired through its CEO, Carlos Rodríguez, with the EpiCog research project for the improvement of the cognitive health of people with epilepsy.
Participants had free access to the training platform that CogniFit Inc. expressly designed for this project, thus being able to complete a two-month cycle of cognitive stimulation through different game-like challenges to train the most compromised cognitive abilities in the condition.
Each participant had the opportunity to train 3 or 4 sessions per week through digital devices such as computers, tablets or smartphones.
At the end of the training phase, all the participants who had shown good adherence to the intervention again completed the battery of psychometric tests developed by Impulso Cognitivo S.L. and Nebrija University, thus allowing a general assessment of the improvements obtained, as well as a precise evaluation of the cognitive components on which the greatest impact was observed.
Results of the EPICOG Project
In general terms, the results of the EpiCog project showed a particularly good adherence of the participants to the cognitive stimulation process, and a quantitative improvement in the skills associated with executive functions, especially in components of precision and speed of response.
These results will be presented and discussed in depth at the opening table of the third International Congress on Dravet Syndrome and Refractory Epilepsy that will take place between June 17 and 20, 2021: https://www.epibilbao.com/
Conclusion
We are excited to learn more about the results and potential next steps based on these findings and look forward to continuing to support research into the ways cognitive stimulation training can be used to benefit the scientific and medical communities.
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