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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.
Sec. Neuropsychology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1404518

The feasibility and effectiveness of remote cognitive training on cognitive function and work performance in workers

Provisionally accepted
Michi SHIBAOKA Michi SHIBAOKA 1*Masashi MASUDA Masashi MASUDA 2Satoko IWASAWA Satoko IWASAWA 3Satoru Ikezawa Satoru Ikezawa 4Hisashi Eguchi Hisashi Eguchi 5Kazuyuki Nakagome Kazuyuki Nakagome 6
  • 1 Yokohama Rosai Hospital, Yokohama, Japan
  • 2 AEON corporation, Chiba, Japan
  • 3 National Defense Medical College (Japan), Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan
  • 4 IUHW Mita Hospital, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
  • 5 University of Occupational and Environmental Health Japan, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan
  • 6 National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (Japan), Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Objectives: We aimed to determine whether remote cognitive training (CT) is feasible and has the potential to improve cognitive function and work performance in Japanese workers. Methods: From June to September 2020, this intervention time series study enrolled workers aged 18-65 years from 10 companies located in a metropolitan area of Japan. Cognitive function tests and self-administered questionnaires were completed by the participants three times: at baseline, after 12 weeks of CT, and after a further 12 weeks following cessation. We measured work performance with the question: "How would you rate your performance (compared with your optimum performance) over the past 4 weeks?" Responses were made via a visual analog scale (0-100). Cognitive function was assessed using the THINC-integrated tool, which is a brief, objective computerized cognitive assessment battery. For our computerized remote CT intervention, BrainHQ was used on the basis of our scientific rationale and the empirical literature. We recommended three 20-minute sessions of BrainHQ per week and sent participants three reminders. Results: In total, 119 participants were recruited to this study. Only 22.7% of the subjects achieved the recommended training time of 720 minutes over 12 weeks. The median training time was used to divide participants into long and short-training groups. The long-training group showed a greater improvement in attention and executive function than the short-training group but there was no significant improvement in work performance after CT compared to baseline. Conclusions: Our results suggest that although remote CT was not feasible enough, the effects on cognitive function can be expected by increasing training time and motivation.

    Keywords: Mental Health 1, Cognitive Functioning 2, Work Productivity 3, Occupational Heatlth 4, Psychosocial Health 5

    Received: 21 Mar 2024; Accepted: 10 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 SHIBAOKA, MASUDA, IWASAWA, Ikezawa, Eguchi and Nakagome. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Michi SHIBAOKA, Yokohama Rosai Hospital, Yokohama, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.