82 Chapter 2 Paper Country Target group N % male Age, mean (SD) Age range Intervention arms Intervention characteristics Assessments Variables measured Findings relevant for current review Van Houdt et al. 2021 The Netherlands Children born very preterm and/or with extremely low birth weight with parent reported attention problems 85 57.7 10.24 (1.18) 8-12 years 1. Braingame Brian, executive functioning training (applied game). 2. Placebo training; Braingame Brian without specific training elements (active condition). 3. Waitlist control (passive condition). 1-2. Twenty-five 30–45-minute sessions over a 6-week period. 3. Children in the waitlist condition did not play Braingame Brian and were instructed to perform the same activities in the waiting period as they normally do. Pre, post and 5-months FU. ADHD symptoms (i.e., attention, hyperactivity/ impulsivity, total score), executive functioning, verbal working memory, visuospatial working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, academic performance (i.e., arithmetic and technical reading). No significant differences in improvement over time between the three groups on parent- and teacher ratings of attention and executive functioning, computerised executive functioning tasks and academic performance. Teacher-reported working memory and overall executive functioning, visuospatial working memory, inhibition, and academic performance improved over time for participants in all three groups. Weerdmeester et al. 2016 The Netherlands Children with an ADHD diagnosis or elevated ADHD symptoms 73 79.5 9.77 (1.74) 6-13 years 1. Adventurous Dreaming Highflying Dragon, targeting inattention, impulsivity, hyperactivity and motor deficiency (applied game). 2. Angry Birds Trilogy (casual game). 1-2. Six 15-minute sessions, over the course of 3 weeks. Pre and post. ADHD symptoms, sustained attention, impulsivity, fine and gross motor skills; engagement, satisfaction (i.e., game evaluation). Marginally significant group differences in the improvement of teacher-reported ADHD symptoms, with the intervention group showing greater improvement in comparison to the control group. Both groups showed equal improvement in fine motor skills, no change was found in gross motor skills. A deterioration in sustained attention was found for both groups and the intervention group showed a greater increase in impulsivity than the control group. Notes. Intervention arms and variables measured in bold are included in the forest plot. All studies used a regular randomised controlled trial (RCT) design, unless otherwise stated. ADHD = attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; ASD = autism spectrum disorder; CD = conduct disorder; EEG = electroencephalography; FU = follow-up; MEG = magnetoencephalography; NA = not available and/or could not be obtained; ODD = oppositional defiant disorder; TAU = treatment as usual. * Gender and/or mean age are reported for included/analysed participants (and not for the total randomised participants), with a n =51, b n=40 (gender only), c n = 30, d n = 29. ** Crossover RCT. *** Data available for US sample only. **** Attention was not measured for the waitlist control group and therefore this paper is included once in the attention plot and twice in the symptoms plot. ***** 31.8% ASD, 32.6% ADHD, 14.0% Intellectual Disability, 10.9% Language Disorder, 2.3% Specific Learning Disorder, 8.5% Other Neurodevelopmental Disorder. ****** As TAU did not focus on attention, this group was not put in the plot.
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