A decision-neuroscientific intervention to improve cognitive recovery after stroke

Functional recovery after stroke is dose-dependent on the amount of rehabilitative training. However, rehabilitative training is subject to motivational hurdles. Decision neuroscience formalizes drivers and dampers of behaviour and provides strategies for tipping motivational trade-offs and behaviour change. Here, we used one such strategy, upfront voluntary choice restriction (‘precommitment’), and tested if it can increase the amount of self-directed rehabilitative training in severely impaired stroke patients. In this randomized controlled study, stroke patients with working-memory deficits (n = 83) were prescribed daily self-directed gamified cognitive training as an add-on to standard therapy during post-acute inpatient neurorehabilitation. Patients allocated to the precommitment intervention could choose to restrict competing options to self-directed training, specifically the possibility to meet visitors. This upfront choice restriction was opted for by all patients in the intervention group and highly effective. Patients in the precommitment group performed the prescribed self-directed gamified cognitive training twice as often as control group patients who were not offered precommitment (on 50% vs. 21% of days, pcorr = .004, d = .87, CI95% = [.31, 1.42]), and, as a consequence, reached a three times higher total training dose (90.21 vs. 33.60 minutes, pcorr = .004, d = .83, CI95% = [.27, 1.38]). And, add-on self-directed cognitive training was associated with stronger improvements in visuospatial and verbal working-memory performance (pcorr =.002, d = .72, and pcorr = .036, d = .62). Our decision-neuroscientific add-on intervention strongly increased the performed amount of an effective cognitive training in severely impaired stroke patients. These results warrant a full clinical trial to directly link decision neuroscientific interventions to clinical outcome.