Background: Computerized Cognitive Training (CCT) is an effective treatment for cognitive impairment in the post-acute stage of stroke. However, it is still not clear if it is suitable for chronic stage.
Objectives: To explore if patients with cognitive deficit following stroke may benefit from CCT.
Methods: Thirty patients post-stroke between 24 and 62 years old were randomized into two groups (A and B) to receive two different types of CCT. All patients were tested with a neuropsychological battery and functional questionnaires, before and after each CCT and also 6 months after the end of the study. In phase I, Group A received a customized CCT and Group B received a non-customized CCT, over 6 weeks. Three months after, each group received the other intervention (phase II).
Results: After phase I, between-group analyses revealed that Group A showed a relative decrease in subjective complaints. In contrast, Group B showed improvement in performance-based measures. After phase II, the decrease in subjective complaints continued in Group A, and both groups showed improvement in performance-based measures.
Conclusions: Patients with chronic stroke improved cognitive functioning after performing supervised home-based multi-domain computerized cognitive training.
Keywords: Tele-rehabilitation; chronic stroke; cognitive assessment; cognitive training; functional outcome; neuropsychologist.