Attention Training Approach for Adolescents with Attention Difficulties

A novel attention training approach for adolescents with attention difficulties at Chartwell in Monterey County.

Dr. Adam Gazzaley, an AIM Scientific Advisory Board member and founder of UCSF’s Neuroscape, will conduct a pilot study of a novel, adaptive attention training software, Engage, in adolescents who have difficulties with attention. Engage is a meditation-inspired, tablet-based game designed and developed at Neuroscape to improve sustained attention, as well as delayed gratification, in children and adolescents. The pilot study plans to validate the feasibility and efficacy of this novel training in a group of 28 adolescents, ages 12-16, in Monterey County. The UCSF team will also assess training-related cognitive improvements using a tablet-based cognitive battery for rapid tests of cognitive control. This pilot study lays the groundwork for future larger-scale research to examine improvements in academic focus and achievement and, importantly, associated benefits in mental health and well-being. This study will include adolescents from the Chartwell School.