Study: an online cognitive rehabilitation program is effective - and it’s low cost

Post-mTBI, a self-administered, commercially available, low-cost computerized cognitive training program produced significant cognitive function improvements

A clinical trial found that people with a history of mTBI and cognitive impairment, recruited from five military and VA sites, showed significant improvement in cognitive function after using BrainHQ training compared to an active control group. The cognitive training group was assigned BrainHQ training sessions “5 days per week, 1 h per day, for 13 weeks.” An active control group was assigned computer games. All the participants were “a mean of 7.5 years post-injury.” 

Participants were assessed at baseline, immediately post-treatment, and three months after treatment. The researchers used a composite of nine different standardized neuropsychological assessments as the primary cognitive measurement. The study found that the group using BrainHQ showed significant improvements compared to the control group, and the “effect size with improvements [were] 3.9–4.9 times larger in magnitude than seen in the active control group.” These improvements were found immediately post-treatment and at the three-month follow-up assessment.

According to the study authors Henry W Mahnche et al., this is “is the first randomized controlled trial of a broadly-available cognitive training program in patients with cognitive impairment and a history of mTBI to address American Academy of Neurology class I standards for an RCT [randomized control trial].” The study was published in the journal Brain.

The software, available at BrainHQ.com, costs $14/mo billed monthly or $8/mo annually. Concussion Alliance has no affiliation with BrainHQ.