The purpose of this pilot study was to assess feasibility and sensitivity of VoxNeuro as an objective measure of cognitive function in cancer survivors

Luctkar-Flude, Marian

Tyerman, Jane

Walker, Sarah

English

Sigma Repository

Assessing feasibility and sensitivity of using VoxNeuro as an objective measure of cognitive function in cancer survivors receiving neurofeedback for post-cancer cognitive impairment  Marian Luctkar-Flude, RN, PhD, CCSNE, FCNEI; Jane Tyerman, RN, PhD, CCSNE; Sarah Walker, RN, MNSc, PhD  Sigma Foundation for Nursing Grant Report Abstract  Problem: Many cancer survivors continue to report distressing and debilitating cognitive problems and fatigue long after treatment has ended. There is a need for evidence-based therapies to manage post-cancer cognitive impairment (PCCI). Neurofeedback is a technology that measures a person's brainwaves and provides feedback to the brain about its own functioning, reminding the brain to self-regulate to improve efficiency, flexibility, and resilience. However, there is a need for a sensitive objective measure of cognitive function to corroborate positive subjective findings of neurofeedback for cancer survivors. VoxNeuroTM provides an objective, quantifiable measurement of brain function by pairing validated neuropsychological tests with EEG results.  Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to assess feasibility and sensitivity of VoxNeuro as an objective measure of cognitive function in cancer survivors.  Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test design. Baseline assessment was followed by 20 NeurOptimal sessions over 10 weeks. Objective measures of cognition used VoxNeuro. Subjective measures of cognition used the FACT-Cognition scale.  Results: The VoxNeuro cognitive assessments were both feasible and acceptable to implement with cancer survivors as demonstrated by high completion rates. Participants displayed average cognitive scores that did not change significantly following the neurofeedback intervention as measured by the VoxNeuro. Subjective measures demonstrated significant improvements that were not correlated by the VoxNeuro objective measures.  Conclusions: Results support the feasibility and acceptability of using VoxNeuro cognitive health assessments to measure cognition in cancer survivors; however, VoxNeuro objective scores of cognition did not correlate with subjective measures of cognition in this small sample. Thus, it is not possible to recommend the use of VoxNeuro as an objective measure of cognition in research with cancer survivors. Additional studies with a larger sample size would need to be conducted to confirm or refute our results, which would require greater levels of funding.  

Assessing feasibility and sensitivity of using VoxNeuro as an objective measure of cognitive function in cancer survivors receiving neurofeedback for post-cancer cognitive impairment

https://www.sigmarepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1114&context=grant_reports

Assessing feasibility and sensitivity of using VoxNeuro as an objective measure of cognitive function in cancer survivors receiving neurofeedback for post-cancer cognitive impairment

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