Can computerized cognitive training enhance executive functions in healthy young adults? A preliminary study

Abstract

Computerized cognitive training (CCT) is a computer-based intervention that targets cognitive functioning that has become increasingly popular in the recent decade. We examined the effectiveness of RehaCom as a standard computerized cognitive training on the executive functions of healthy adults in this preliminary study. The study was a quasi-experimental study using a pretest-posttest experimental design without a control group. The participants included 10 healthy adults. The participants were evaluated before and after the intervention using the Trail Making Test (TMT), Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift (IED), and Stockings of Cambridge (SOC) computerized tasks. The subjects trained by RehaCom software for 45 minutes per day, one day per week, for a total of four sessions over one month. Data were analyzed in the SPSS software (version 26) using the paired t-test test. Results show significant enhancement in participants’ central executive functioning (p < 0.01), shifting (p<0.05), and planning (p<0.05). A computerized cognitive training program can improve cognitive functions of healthy adults.