Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Cognitive Interventions for Children with Central Nervous System Disorders and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Objective: To assess the efficacy of cognitive interventions for children with neurological disorders, acquired brain injuries, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Method: We searched for randomized controlled trials of cognitive interventions; 13 studies met inclusion criteria. Risk of bias was rated for each study. Standardized effect size estimates were examined in 7 outcome domains. The overall quality of evidence was rated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation system.

Results: Significant positive treatment effects were found in all outcome domains aside from inhibitory control. Effects were large for attention, working memory, and memory tasks, and small for academic achievement and behavior rating scales. Results exhibited substantial heterogeneity in all domains. Overall quality of evidence was rated very low in all domains, suggesting substantial uncertainty about effect size estimates.

Discussion: The results provide some evidence of a positive benefit from cognitive interventions, but cannot be regarded as robust given the overall very low quality of the evidence.