Web-Based Cognitive Training to Improve Working Memory in Persons with Co-Occurring HIV Infection and Cocaine Use Disorder: Outcomes from a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Sheri L ToweJeremiah T HartsockYunan XuChristina S MeadePublished in: AIDS and behavior (2021)
Neurocognitive impairment (NCI) remains a persistent complication of HIV disease that nearly half of persons with HIV experience, and rates are even higher in persons who use substances such as cocaine. Cognitive training is a promising intervention for HIV-associated NCI. In this randomized controlled trial, we examined the feasibility and effectiveness of a web-based cognitive training program to improve working memory in a sample of 58 persons with HIV and cocaine use disorder. Participants were randomly assigned to either the experimental working memory training arm or the attention control training arm and completed up to 48 daily sessions over 10 weeks. Overall, treatment completion (74%) and retention rates (97%) were high, and participant feedback indicated the intervention was acceptable. Our results show that the intervention successfully reduced working memory deficits in the experimental arm relative to the control arm. Our findings support both the feasibility and effectiveness of cognitive training in this population.
Keyphrases
- working memory
- randomized controlled trial
- antiretroviral therapy
- hiv positive
- hiv infected
- hiv testing
- human immunodeficiency virus
- transcranial direct current stimulation
- hepatitis c virus
- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- hiv aids
- virtual reality
- men who have sex with men
- study protocol
- physical activity
- clinical trial
- prefrontal cortex
- bipolar disorder