Train Your Brain 2.0 - Improving Memory and Decision Making Among Youth

Change in Monetary Choice Questionnaire

The Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) is a measure of delay discounting (DD). Participants will be presented with two choices, one with a small, immediate monetary reward and the other with a larger, delayed monetary reward. They will be required to choose one of those rewards and their responses will be scored using reference discounting curves. A calculated score that places participants on steeper curves indicates higher levels of impulsivity and higher rates of DD. Scores are not bounded with a minimum and maximum value, but higher scores indicate worse outcomes and demonstrate the participant's preference to gain smaller rewards immediately over larger rewards with a time delay.

Change in Consideration of Future Consequences Scale

The Consideration of Future Consequences Scale1 (CFCS-14) is a 14-item self-report questionnaire that assesses active consideration of longer-term implications of an individual's actions. Lower scores on the CFCS-14 are associated with a greater focus on immediate needs and have been found to be associated with less engagement in health behaviors and greater substance use. Individual items are rated on a scale from 1 to 7 with total scores range from 14-98. The measure has been used extensively among adult samples and demonstrates strong reliability and validity. Research suggests modest but significant correlations with the Monetary Choice Questionnaire (MCQ). Change in CFCS-14 score is measured by comparing baseline scores with scores at the post-intervention assessment with higher scores reflecting greater increases in future thinking.

Change in Digit Span

The Digit Span Task is a measure of memory. Participants are presented with digit sequences of increasing length and are required to recall them either in forward order (Digit Span Forward) or in reverse order (Digit Span Backward). Digit Span Forward is a measure of immediate memory and Digit Span Backward is a measure of working memory. Participants will move up or down levels based on correct or incorrect recall of sequences, respectively. Moving up a level will increase the sequence length while moving down a level will decrease the sequence length. Standardized scores range from 0 to 20. Higher scores in this task indicate better performance over 14 trials. Computerized memory tasks such as this have demonstrated increased reliability in short-term memory assessments.

Change in Stop Signal Task

The Stop Signal Task (SST) is a measure of response inhibition. Participants are first presented with either a left pointing arrow or a right pointing arrow. They are required to select the left arrow button upon seeing a left pointing arrow and the right arrow button upon seeing the right pointing arrow. After 16 trials, a second component is added to the task. Participants will continue to select left or right arrow buttons, but once they are presented with an auditory cue (a beep), they need to withhold their response. The delay in presenting the auditory cue after the arrow is shown (Stop Signal Delay; SSD) will become longer or smaller based on participant performance. The stop signal response time (SSRT) gives an estimate of the time it takes for a response to be stopped upon hearing the cue. Longer SSRT generally indicates poor performance on the SST. Standardized scores range from 0 to 100 with greater scores representing better task performance.

Changes in Letter Number Sequencing Test

Letter Number Sequencing (LNS) is a measure of working memory. This test has two parts to it: the forward test and the reordered test. In the forward test, the participant is visually presented with a list of scrambled letters and numbers that they must type into a text box in the same alphabetical and numeric order that was presented. In the reordered test, the participant is visually presented with a list of scrambled letters and numbers that they must type into a text box with numbers listed first in ascending order and letters listed second in alphabetical order. The length of the target string increases over time until the participant is no longer able to correctly sequence three letter/ number stems in a row. The investigators will use a computerized version of the LNS test. Higher scores in this test indicate better outcomes with standardized scores ranging from 0 to 20.