Online Cognitive Rehabilitation of Executive Dysfunction in Nonamnestic MCI

Rehabilitation of Executive Dysfunction in Nonamnestic MCI Using Online Goal Management Training®

Nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment (naMCI) is a prodromal state characterized by deficits in executive functioning, a collection of higher-order abilities involved in organization, planning, inhibition, and complex reasoning. Research shows that individuals with naMCI have an increased risk of developing non-Alzheimer's dementia such as frontotemporal dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies, which pose substantial personal and societal costs. Accordingly, interventions that can successfully slow down or reverse the course of naMCI are needed.

Goal Management Training (GMT) is a cognitive rehabilitation platform that has been studied extensively, applied clinically, and manualized into kits for clinicians (Levine et al., 2000; Levine et al., 2007; Levine et al., 2011; Stamenova & Levine, 2019). The purpose of GMT is to train individuals to periodically "STOP" what they are doing, attend to task goals, evaluate their performance, and monitor or check outcomes as they proceed. Recently, an online version of GMT has been developed and validated in order to circumvent barriers to attending in-person sessions.

The purpose of the current study is to determine if the online version of GMT is effective at improving self-reported executive dysfunction in individuals diagnosed with naMCI against a control group that is receiving treatment-as-usual from their care provider. It is hypothesized that, compared to the control group, individuals receiving GMT will report a decrease in executive function deficits.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment
• Available to participate in all testing and intervention sessions
• Access to a computer
• Computer familiarity
• Normal or corrected-to-normal vision and hearing

Exclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of amnestic mild cognitive impairment or dementia
• Moderate to severe affective impairment defined by score above cut-off for depression on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001)