Apply to Trial

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

Duration: 4 weeks

60 Participants Needed

Attention Training for Long COVID
(LongCovAtten Trial)

Overseen ByKathryn Magee, MHS

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Disqualifiers: Neurological conditions, Severe depression, others

No Placebo GroupAll trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to determine if an Attention Processing Training program can alleviate brain fog in individuals with Long COVID. Participants will either engage in attention training (a cognitive therapy), listen to music, or begin the training at a later time. Ideal candidates are those in the Chicagoland area who have experienced COVID-19 and now face brain fog that disrupts daily life, beginning a few months post-infection. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity to contribute to understanding new methods for alleviating brain fog symptoms.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It might be best to discuss this with the trial coordinators or your doctor.

Is there any evidence suggesting that this trial's treatments are likely to be safe?

Research has shown that Attention Training is generally safe for people. This training improves focus and the ability to switch attention. Studies have found it can assist with attention problems, such as those seen in Long COVID. No reports of serious side effects from Attention Training exist.

The enhanced music experience offered in the trial is also safe. Listening to music is usually harmless and can even aid relaxation and mood.

Since this trial does not involve drugs or invasive treatments, the risk of negative effects remains minimal. Participants can feel confident that the activities are low-risk.¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about Attention Training for Long COVID because it offers a novel approach to addressing cognitive issues linked with the condition. Unlike conventional treatments that might focus on pharmacological interventions or generalized cognitive therapy, this method uses a computer-based program called APT-3, which adapts to the individual's progress to enhance attention skills. Delivered through a combination of in-person and remote sessions, it offers flexibility and personalized progression, making it distinct from more traditional therapies. Additionally, the hybrid delivery model makes it accessible and convenient for participants, potentially improving adherence and outcomes.

What evidence suggests that this trial's treatments could be effective for brain fog symptoms in Long COVID?

Research shows that Attention Training, which participants in this trial may receive, can help improve focus and task-switching abilities. This might ease brain fog symptoms in people with Long COVID. Previous studies suggest that these exercises enhance concentration and thinking skills. These benefits are especially important for those who struggle with attention after having COVID-19.¹ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹

Who Is on the Research Team?

Shira Cohen-Zimerman, PhD

Principal Investigator

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Elliot Roth, MD

Principal Investigator

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

This trial is for adults aged 18-65 who have had COVID-19 and are experiencing 'brain fog' that affects daily life. Participants must have attentional deficits, be able to use a keyboard, consent independently, and communicate in English. Those with severe depression, recent chemotherapy or radiation treatment, active substance abuse, or certain pre-existing neurological conditions cannot join.

Inclusion Criteria

I have attention issues confirmed by specific tests.

I've had memory or thinking problems since getting COVID-19.

I have had a confirmed case of COVID-19.

See 4 more

Exclusion Criteria

I have been diagnosed with severe depression.

I have had chemotherapy or radiation in the past 6 months.

Active substance abuse

See 3 more

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants receive either the Attention Training or Music Program intervention for 4 weeks

4 weeks

Hybrid model: in-person, remote, and independent sessions

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in attention test scores and completion of study tasks

2 years

Optional Attention Training

Participants in the Delayed Attention Training group have the option to complete the Attention Training after initial assessments

4 weeks

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

Attention Training

Trial Overview The study tests if an Attention Processing Training program can help improve the brain fog symptoms associated with Long-Covid. It also examines whether this training can be effectively completed online.

How Is the Trial Designed?

3Treatment groups

Experimental Treatment

Active Control

Group I: Music ProgramExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

This group will receive an enhanced music experience. They will listen to pre determined music for 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks (10 hours total over 4 weeks). This will be delivered in a hybrid model that will combine, in person, remote, and independent sessions, similar to the Attention Training group. Once they complete the music program, they will have the option to complete the Attention Training.

Group II: Attention TrainingExperimental Treatment1 Intervention

The computer based APT-3 intervention will be delivered in a hybrid model that will combine in-person therapy sessions at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and practice sessions which will be completed remotely. The dosing of each intervention training will be 30 minutes per day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks (10 hours total over 4 weeks). The difficulty of the tasks in both interventions will increase progressively as the participants improve in their skills. APT-3 treatment will be administered by a trained and certified speech-language pathologist.

Group III: Delayed Attention TrainingActive Control1 Intervention

This group will not be provided any program for the initial 4 weeks. After they complete the week 5 assessments, they will have the option to complete the Attention Training.

Find a Clinic Near You

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Lead Sponsor

Trials

212

Recruited

17,900+

Published Research Related to This Trial

The proposed hierarchical multimodal architecture effectively classifies sentiment and emotion from both text and audio data, addressing challenges in feature extraction and modality interaction.

This model outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods on published datasets and provides visual interpretability through synchronized attention across modalities.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Multimodal Affective Analysis Using Hierarchical Attention Strategy with Word-Level Alignment.Gu, Y., Yang, K., Fu, S., et al.[2023]

A pilot intervention training military veterans in emotion regulation strategies (Focused Attention and Cognitive Reappraisal) over 5-8 weeks showed significant improvements in psychological well-being, including enhanced working memory and self-efficacy.

Neuroimaging results indicated that the training led to changes in brain connectivity, suggesting that resilience and emotional well-being can be developed through targeted training, with observable effects on brain function.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Cultivating Affective Resilience: Proof-of-Principle Evidence of Translational Benefits From a Novel Cognitive-Emotional Training Intervention.Dolcos, S., Hu, Y., Williams, C., et al.[2021]

The proposed visual attention convolutional neural network (VACNN) significantly improves speech emotion recognition (SER) performance across different datasets, achieving overall accuracies of 83.33% for RAVDESS, 86.92% for EmoDB, and 75.00% for SAVEE.

By utilizing a bag of visual words (BOVW) to enhance feature extraction, the VACNN method outperformed existing state-of-the-art cross-corpus SER approaches by 7.73% on RAVDESS, 15.12% on EmoDB, and 2.34% on SAVEE, demonstrating its effectiveness in generalizing across different emotional speech datasets.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Fusing Visual Attention CNN and Bag of Visual Words for Cross-Corpus Speech Emotion Recognition.Seo, M., Kim, M.[2021]

Citations

1.withpower.comwithpower.com/trial/phase-post-acute-covid-19-syndrome-2-2024-cd82e

Attention Training for Long COVID (LongCovAtten Trial)Research shows that Attention Training Technique (ATT) can improve attention control and flexibility, which may help with attention issues in Long COVID.

2.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11500513/

Long COVID and post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 ...In this report, we present insights from the talks and workshops presented during this meeting and highlight key themes regarding what researchers have ...

3.clinicaltrials.govclinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05478759

Innovative Multimodal and Attention Training to Improve ...The objective of this randomized controlled trial is to determine the treatment effect of a MultiModal Affect Recognition Training (MMART) combined with ...

4.nature.comnature.com/articles/s44401-025-00033-4

Extracting post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection ...Accurately and efficiently diagnosing Post-Acute Sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) remains challenging due to its myriad symptoms that evolve over ...

5.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8525917/

Addressing the post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infectionThe surge in COVID-19 survivors provides an opportunity to address gaps in knowledge regarding the management of frequently experienced symptoms after acute ...

6.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.govpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11853337/

A Narrative Review of the Efficacy of Long COVID ...Treatment interventions such as cognitive training, non-invasive brain stimulation therapy, exercise rehabilitation, targeted pharmacological intervention,

7.clinicaltrials.govclinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05338749

Computer Cognitive Training for Post-acute COVID-19 ...This study will assess the acceptability, feasibility, and impact of game-based computer-delivered cognitive training on cognitive function in persons with ...

8.nature.comnature.com/articles/s41419-024-06642-5

Research progress of post-acute sequelae after SARS ...This article reviews the various long-term complications and sequelae observed in multiple organ systems caused by COVID-19, pathophysiological mechanisms, ...

9.nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.comnyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.15132

Long COVID and post‐acute sequelae of SARS‐CoV‐2 ...In this report, we present insights from the talks and workshops presented during this meeting and highlight key themes regarding what researchers have ...

Other People Viewed

By Subject

By Trial

Attention Training for Long COVID
(LongCovAtten Trial)

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

Who Is on the Research Team?

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

Timeline for a Trial Participant

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Find a Clinic Near You

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Published Research Related to This Trial

Citations

Other People Viewed

Related Searches

Personalize Your Experience

Save Your Preferences

Understand How the Site Is Used