VR headset games tested as new ADHD therapy for children
NCT ID NCT05608434
First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jul 10, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study tests whether playing virtual reality games can improve cognitive skills like attention and memory in children aged 8 to 16 with ADHD. Participants will play four different VR games for 20 minutes a day, five days a week, for four weeks. The trial starts with a pilot phase where everyone gets the full games, followed by a randomized phase comparing the full version to a limited version. Researchers will also check for side effects like motion sickness and use brain scans to see if the games change brain function.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- virtual reality cognitive training games
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new, engaging way to help children with ADHD improve attention and thinking skills without medication.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with only 219 participants. The games may not lead to lasting improvements, and side effects like motion sickness or eye strain are possible.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
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About 219 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2024
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A government research agency
The lead sponsor is the US National Institutes of Health.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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8 to 16 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
* INCLUSION CRITERIA: In order to be eligible to participate, an individual must meet all of the following criteria: 1. Children must provide informed assent and parents must provide informed consent to participate in the study. 2. Any sex assigned at birth, or race/ethnicity. 3. Aged between 8 and 16 years of age, including all months leading up to age 17. 4. Meets diagnosis for ADHD, predominately inattentive or combined presentations, or a specified presentation of having prominent symptoms of inattention that are impairing in two or more settings (but not numerous enough to meet a diagnosis of inattentive or combined presentation). 5. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and lifestyle considerations and availability for the duration of the study. 6. For the Pilot only: If treated for ADHD with psychostimulants, willing to withdraw medication three days prior to baseline assessments and to stay off medication until completion of the post-intervention assessment. Not receiving any other psychotropic medication for at least 30 days prior to baseline assessment. EXCLUSION CRITERIA: An individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study: 1. Cognitively not capable of performing study procedures. Indications of a lack of cognitive capacity could include a known IQ under 70, or a history from the screening interview that implies global intellectual disabilities (e.g., placement in a school for children with intellectual disability etc.) 2. History of severe migraines, vertigo, epilepsy (with the exception of febrile seizures), or serious balance disorders. 3. Impairments in uncorrected visual acuity that would interfere with engagement with the VR training. 4. Known to be pregnant. 5. Psychotic disorders (including schizophrenia, psychosis not otherwise specified), current substance dependence. Other psychiatric disorders elicited on the interview are not considered exclusionary provided that ADHD is considered to be one of the dominant sources of impairment for the child. 6. Considered a suicide risk as determined during the clinical interview at baseline. 7. Any other medical or psychiatric condition that in the opinion of the PI may confound study data/assessments (e.g., limitations in mobility that would render the VR headset unusable). 8. Recent (within three months) treatment with other cognitive training interventions (e.g., Cogmed) for ADHD. 9. The VR equipment produces excessive discomfort to the child in the opinion of the PI (e.g., including participants with small interpupillary distances (IPD) that are only able to see blurry images on the VR headset, or children showing signs of undue neck and upper body strain or fatigue while trying the headset). 10. For the main trial only: Certain psychotropic medications classes that are likely to interfere with the completion of the intervention are exclusionary: antipsychotics, mood stabilizers (lithium, valproate, lamotrigine, gabapentin). Medications for ADHD will not be considered as exclusionary. This includes psychostimulants, atomoxetine, alpha 2 adrenergic agonists. Antidepressant and anxiolytic medication will also not be exclusionary if they are deemed not to not interfere with study procedures 11. For the main trial only: Prior use of Floreo s products including but not limited to their ADHD cognitive training application.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
RECRUITINGBethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
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