The effectiveness of computerized cognitive rehabilitation on improving executive functions and specification of autobiographical memory of preterm preschool children

This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of computerized cognitive rehabilitation in improving executive functions and the specification of autobiographical memory in preterm preschool children. The research employed a semi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test and a control group. The statistical population for this research comprised preterm children in Isfahan city in 1400, from which 20 preterm boys and girls (born at less than 37 weeks of pregnancy) were randomly selected into two experimental and control groups. The research questionnaires included the Autobiographical Memory Task-Preschool Version (AMT-PV, Nuttall et al., 2014), School of Shapes (SST, Espey, 1997), and Brian's mental game. Computerized cognitive rehabilitation involved 25 training sessions lasting 30-45 minutes each (four sessions per week). Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. The results, after controlling for the pre-test effect, indicated a significant difference in the post-test averages of working memory, response inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and the specification of autobiographical memory in the two experimental and control groups (p<0.05). In conclusion, computerized cognitive rehabilitation was found to effectively improve the executive functions and specification of autobiographical memory in preterm preschool children.