Improving Cognitive Rehabilitation Outcomes

NCT ID: NCT07055633

Last Updated: 2025-07-09

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

NOT_YET_RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

144 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2026-04-01

Study Completion Date

2030-06-30

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and mild TBI (mTBI) frequently co-occur in post-9/11 Veterans, and together are associated with worse cognitive performance, mental health, everyday functioning, community integration, quality of life, and treatment response than either condition alone. Additional comorbidities, such as depression and sleep disturbance, are common and further exacerbate these problems. The investigators will investigate Compensatory Cognitive Training (CCT) and Morning Bright Light Therapy (MBLT) vs Negative Ion Generator (ION), to directly target cognition, depression, and sleep disturbance and to improve CCT-associated rehabilitation outcomes. The investigator's randomized controlled trial in 144 Veterans with mTBI+PTSD across two VA sites will compare cognition, functioning, and other secondary outcomes following CCT+MBLT vs. CCT+ION. This study addresses the significant gap in services and evidence-based treatments for Veterans with mTBI+PTSD.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

The investigators aim to compare CCT+MBLT with CCT+ION for improving cognition, functioning, and secondary outcomes in Veterans with mTBI+PTSD.

Objective cognitive performance and everyday functioning are co-primary outcomes. Depression and sleep disturbance are target mechanisms and secondary outcomes include PTSD symptom severity, post-concussive symptom severity, cognitive symptom severity, and quality of life.

Improvements in mood and sleep will be investigated as mediators. To explore for whom these interventions are most effective, the investigators will evaluate whether individual difference variables (e.g., demographics, premorbid functioning, treatment adherence) or baseline performance on primary and secondary outcome measures moderate intervention-related improvements in objective cognitive performance and everyday functioning.

The investigators will enroll a representative sample of 144 post-9/11 Veterans with mTBI+PTSD at two VA sites (San Diego and Portland). Assessments will be conducted at baseline, mid-treatment (5 weeks), post-treatment (10 weeks), and three-month follow-up.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

CCT+MBLT vs CCT+ION
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

DOUBLE

Participants Outcome Assessors

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

CCT+MBLT

Compensatory Cognitive Training + Morning Bright Light Therapy

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

CCT+MBLT

Intervention Type DEVICE

Compensatory Cognitive Training + Morning Bright Light Therapy (Aurora LightPad)

CCT+ION

Compensatory Cognitive Training + Negative Ion Generator

Group Type SHAM_COMPARATOR

CCT+ION

Intervention Type DEVICE

Compensatory Cognitive Training + Negative Ion Generator (SphereOne)

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

CCT+MBLT

Compensatory Cognitive Training + Morning Bright Light Therapy (Aurora LightPad)

Intervention Type DEVICE

CCT+ION

Compensatory Cognitive Training + Negative Ion Generator (SphereOne)

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

Morning Bright Light Therapy Aurora LightPad lightbox SphereOne negative ion generator

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Post 9/11 Veterans enrolled at VA San Diego or VA Portland
* Ability to provide informed consent
* Living independently
* History of mTBI confirmed by OSU-TBI
* Current diagnosis of PTSD confirmed by CAPS-5
* Current cognitive concerns ("Do you have concerns about your cognition, thinking, attention, or memory?")
* Current concern regarding depression and/or sleep disturbance; defined by a score of 5 on the PHQ-9 and/or 8 on the ISI, respectively (score of 2 or higher on ISI item 1, 2, or 3, reflecting at least "moderate" difficulty with falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early in the morning)

Exclusion Criteria

* Current substance use disorder with \<30 days abstinence
* History of primary psychotic disorder
* History of moderate to severe TBI (loss of consciousness \>30 minutes)
* History of macular degeneration or bipolar disorder (both contraindicated for bright light therapy)
* Not work night or swing shift schedules
* Untreated obstructive sleep apnea either via self-report or a score 5 on the STOP-BANG
* Current engagement in bright light therapy
* Auditory or visual impairments precluding participation in assessments or treatments
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Portland VA Medical Center

FED

Sponsor Role collaborator

VA Office of Research and Development

FED

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Elizabeth W. Twamley, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA

San Diego, California, United States

Site Status

VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR

Portland, Oregon, United States

Site Status

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

United States

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Elizabeth W Twamley, PhD

Role: CONTACT

(858) 552-8585 ext. 3848

Amy J Jak, PhD

Role: CONTACT

(858) 642-3742

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Niloofar Afari, PhD

Role: primary

858-642-3657

Carl J Stepnowsky, Jr., PhD

Role: backup

(858) 642-1240

Maya E O'Neil, PhD

Role: primary

503-220-8262 ext. 54522

Jonathan Elliott, PhD

Role: backup

5032208262 ext. 51986

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

RRD1-012-24W

Identifier Type: OTHER_GRANT

Identifier Source: secondary_id

RRD1-012-24W

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

SMART-CPT for PTSD/Concussion Implementation
NCT06995612 ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION NA
Enhancing Memory in CPT for PTSD
NCT06000475 RECRUITING NA