LearningRx Harrisonburg: Research History
LearningRx wasn’t born overnight. In fact, our programs were developed through a process of trial and error dating back to 1968. As you’ll read on the timeline below, even significant successes weren’t enough for LearningRx founder Dr. Ken Gibson. His formula for developing the best cognitive skills training program was always the same:
Trials + Results = More Research + More Development
It took 35 years of repeating this formula with four contiguous experimental programs before Dr. Gibson finally got the fast and unprecedented gains he was after in a one-on-one brain training company. In 2002, Dr. Gibson began franchising LearningRx, and in 2014, he founded the Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research to support further research in the field of brain training.
Here is a timeline of some of the most significant research, studies (some with and some without control groups), and developments related to LearningRx programs.
(You or your child may or may not experience the same improvements described in these studies.)
Refining Brain Training & Research on LearningRx (2002-Present)
2023 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University along with Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, Terissa Miller, MS Psy, and Jeffrey Moore, BSN, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research analyzed a large real-world dataset to examine cognitive, reading, and behavioral outcomes for struggling readers (n = 3527) who had completed 24 weeks (120 hours) of ReadRx and publish A Real-World Data Study on the Impact of the ReadRx Cognitive Training and Reading Intervention on Cognition, Basic Reading Ability, and Psychosocial Skills for 3,527 Children in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management.
2021 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University along with Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, and Terissa Miller, MS Psy, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research compare remote delivery to in-person delivery of ThinkRx cognitive training and publish “Remote vs. In-Person Delivery of LearningRx One-on-One Cognitive Training During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Non-inferiority Study” in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
2021 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University along with Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, and Terissa Miller, MS Psy, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research complete a study on the validity and reliability of the revised paper-and-pencil version of the Gibson Test and publish “Reliability Evidence for the Gibson Assessment of Cognitive Skills (GACS): A Brief Tool for Screening Cognitive Skills Across the Lifespan” in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management.
2020 – Dick Carpenter, PhD from University of Colorado, Christina Ledbetter, PhD, and Elizabeth Disbrow, PhD, from Louisiana State University, Jeffrey Moore, BSN, from Colorado State University-Pueblo, and Randolph James, MD, from True Life Medicine, along with Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, and Teri Miller, MS Psy, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research complete an MRI study on ThinkRx cognitive training for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and publish “Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Outcomes Following Clinician-Delivered Cognitive Training for Six Patients with Mild Brain Injury: A Multiple Case Study” in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.
2020 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research are invited to analyze the use of waitlist controls in research and publish “Ethical considerations and lessons learned in a randomized controlled trial of ThinkRx cognitive training for children with learning disabilities and/or ADHD” in SAGE Research Methods Cases.
2019 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, and Terissa Miller, MS Psy, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research, along with Mark Taylor, PhD, from Central Texas Cognitive Training study the effects of 60 hours of ThinkRx® training for repetitive concussions in a student athlete and publish their ACRM conference presentation “MRI and Neuropsychological Outcomes of Cognitive Rehabilitation Training for Repetitive Sports Concussion” in Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
2019 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research present a 45-minute workshop at the 5th Neurological Disorders Summit in Los Angeles, CA, on the research supporting complexity, intensity, and human delivery in cognitive training and publish their presentation abstract “Key Ingredients of Effective Cognitive Rehabilitation Training” in Journal of Neurology & Experimental Neuroscience.
2019 – Randolph James, MD of True Life Medicine along with Dick Carpenter, PhD from University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, and Terissa Miller, MS Psy, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research examine a multidisciplinary approach to reversing cognitive decline in aging patients with clinical cognitive impairment and publish their results Feasibility of a Functional Medicine Approach to Slowing Clinical Cognitive Decline in Patients Over Age 55: A Multiple Case Study Report in the Open Biomedical Journal Integrative and Complementary Medicine.
2019 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research publish the advantages of human delivery versus computer games for training the brain in The Promise of Clinician-Delivered Cognitive Training for Children Diagnosed with ADHD in the Journal of Mental Health and Clinical Psychology.
2019 – Dick Carpenter, PhD, from University of Colorado Colorado Springs and Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, along with Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, and Terissa Miller, MS Psy, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research, analyze two methods of delivering ThinkRx® to adults over age 50, and publish, “ThinkRx Cognitive Training for Adults over Age 50: Clinician-Caregiver Partners in Delivery as Effective as Clinician-Only Delivery” in the prestigious APA journal, Psychology and Neuroscience.
2018 – Dick Carpenter, PhD, from University of Colorado Colorado Springs and Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University along with Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, and Teri Miller, MS Psy, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research analyze two methods of delivering ThinkRx® to children with learning struggles and publish the randomized controlled trial, “Comparing Two Methods of Delivering ThinkRx Cognitive Training to Children Ages 8-14: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Equivalency” in the Journal of Cognitive Enhancement.
2018 – Dick Carpenter, PhD, from University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research analyze cognitive and behavioral outcomes in a randomized controlled trial of LearningRx brain training with children who have ADHD and publish “Clinician-Delivered Cognitive Training for Children with Attention Problems: Effects on Cognition and Behavior from the ThinkRx® Randomized Controlled Trial” in the journal Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment.
2018 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University uses MRI to investigate changes in the brain’s Default Mode Network for participants with TBI and MCI/early Alzheimer’s and presents her findings to the American Society of Neuroimaging and publishes the abstract “Neuroimaging Outcomes of a Cognitive Rehabilitation Training Program” in the Journal of Neuroimaging.
2018 – Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, and Terissa Miller, MS Psy, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research, complete a three-year test validation study on the revised Gibson Test of Cognitive Skills with nearly 3,000 people and publish the study “Reliability and Validity of the Revised Gibson Test of Cognitive Skills, a Computer-Based Test Battery for Assessing Cognition Across the Lifespan” in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management.
2017 – Edward Jedlicka, PhD, from Lakeland University, publishes a controlled study related to his dissertation examining the impact of ThinkRx® and ReadRx® on academic difficulties and oppositional behavior entitled “LearningRx cognitive training for children and adolescents ages 5-18: Effects on academic skills, behavior, and cognition” in the journal Frontiers in Education.
2017 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University uses MRI to examine changes in the Default Mode Network among participants with traumatic brain injury and presents her results, “MRI and neuropsychological outcomes following cognitive rehabilitation training in traumatic brain injury: A Multiple Case Study” at Society for Neuroscience in Washington, DC.
2017 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research conduct a chart review from the pilot study of soldiers with TBI and publish the results, “Cognitive Effects of ThinkRx Cognitive Rehabilitation Training for Eleven Soldiers with Brain Injury: A retrospective chart review” in Frontiers in Psychology.
2017 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research examine the cognitive profiles of more than 5,000 people with ADHD and present the results “Beyond Attention: Memory and Processing Speed Deficits Dominate Cognitive Profiles in ADHD Across the Lifespan” at American Psychological Association Annual Convention in Washington, DC.
2016 – Howard Wainer, PhD, from National Board of Medical Examiners, and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research author a revised report, “LearningRx Client Outcomes and Research Results,” covering the years 2010-2015 and nearly 19,000 clients. As a group, clients made statistically significant gains in all cognitive and academic skills measured by the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities and Tests of Achievement. The average IQ score gain was 14.9 points. Gains in cognitive skills ranged from 3.2 years to 5.0 years. Gains in reading skills ranged from 2.0 years to 6.3 years while gains in math skills ranged from 2.2 years to 3.5 years.
2016 – Dick Carpenter, PhD, from University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, Randolph James, MD, from True Life Medicine, and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research launch a clinical trial testing a multidisciplinary approach to reversing cognitive decline in participants with mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease.
2016 – Dick Carpenter, PhD, from University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research complete a three-month randomized, controlled study on the effects of LearningRx brain training for improving cognitive skills in children ages 8 to 14 and publish “LearningRx Cognitive Training Effects in Children Ages 8-14: A Randomized Controlled Study” in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology.
2016 – Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, conducts analyses of MRI results from Oliver Hill, PhD’s NSF grant-funded randomized controlled trial on LearningRx and presents the results of correlated changes in connectivity with cognitive test gains entitled, “Correlation of Cognitive Training Gains and Resting-state Functional Connectivity” at Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, CA.
2016 – Oliver Hill, PhD, from Virginia State University completes an NSF-funded set of randomized controlled trials and coauthors “The Efficacy of the LearningRx Cognitive Training Program: Modality and Transfer Effects” published in the Journal of Experimental Education.
2015 – University of Virginia school psychology professor Jason Downer, PhD, launches a randomized, controlled trial comparing ReadRx® with traditional reading tutoring for third and fourth-grade at-risk students.
2016 – Dick Carpenter, PhD, from University of Colorado Colorado Springs, Christina Ledbetter, PhD, from Louisiana State University, and Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research complete a six-month randomized, controlled study comparing the effects of one-on-one ThinkRx® brain training with 50% one-on-one/50% digital ThinkRx® brain training for improving cognitive skills in children ages 8 to 14. The results, “Intensive, Metronome-Based, 1-on-1 Cognitive Training Improves Cognitive Skills in Children” were presented at Society for Neuroscience in San Diego, CA.
2015 – Philip Zelazo, PhD, at University of Minnesota, launches an NIH-funded pilot study comparing neurofeedback with LearningRx brain training to improve executive function with 40 clients ages 9 to 12.
2015 – Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research compares the results from more than 6,000 ReadRx® and MathRx® clients to test for placebo effects and authors a technical report, “Achievement Outcomes for LearningRx Students Math and Reading Achievement Before and After Cognitive Training,” showing that placebo effects are not evident among this group. The results are reviewed by world-renowned statistician Howard Wainer, PhD.
2015 – Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research, and Tanya Mitchell from LearningRx, conduct a follow-up survey of parents of LearningRx graduates previously diagnosed with dyslexia to examine real-life benefits following brain training.
2015 – Dick Carpenter, PhD, from the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, co-authors a propensity-matched control group study with 61 participants ages 6 to 16 to test the effects of LearningRx training on cognitive skills. Dr. Ken Gibson, Dr. Carpenter, Dr. Amy Moore, and Tanya Mitchell publish “Training the Brain to Learn: Beyond Vision Therapy” in Vision Development & Rehabilitation, the journal of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development-the professional organization governing vision therapists since 1973.
2015 – Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research studies characteristics of 150 cognitive trainers that predicted outcomes for 1,195 clients with and without ADHD. Moore examines the predictive value of trainer personality, degree level and field, certification level, and pre-hire cognitive screening scores on client gains in long-term memory, working memory, processing speed, and general intelligence. She publishes her dissertation, “Cognitive Trainer Characteristics That Predict Outcomes for Students With and Without ADHD.“
2015 – Stuart Musick, EdD, conducts a qualitative study examining the LearningRx brain training experience from the perspective of teachers, trainers, and researchers and publishes his dissertation, “Cognitive Training in a School Curriculum: a Qualitative Single Instrument Case Study.“
2015 – StudyRx® launches.
2014 – Amy Lawson Moore, PhD, from Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research writes, “A Research Review of Cognitive Skills, Strategies, and Interventions for Reading Comprehension” including extensive coverage of LearningRx programs and results.
2014 – Lori Bryan, PhD, from University of Colorado Colorado Springs writes, “Traumatic Brain Injury and Cognitive Remediation” including extensive coverage of LearningRx programs and results.
2014 – Lori Bryan, PhD, from University of Colorado Colorado Springs writes, “Autism and Cognitive Remediation” including extensive coverage of LearningRx programs and results.
2014 – LearningRx releases its second data report on retention results from 2011-2012. The results include pre- and post-test results and the percent of gain retained (14.4 months average) following the post-training testing of 526 clients.
2014 – LearningRx releases its second results report. The report contains data on average gains derived from the scores of every client (about 6,000) who participated in LearningRx in 2011-2012 at 80 brain training centers throughout the U.S. The clients underwent an average of 18 weeks (90 hours) of training to improve logic and reasoning, short-term memory, processing speed, auditory and visual processing, and long-term memory. The results show that after brain training, the mean gain in IQ score was 14.6 points (15 points for those who completed all of their training in a LearningRx Center), with an average percentile increase of 25.7 and an average age-equivalent increase of 3.7 years. Pre-test to post-test gains is measured using the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement.
2014 – The Gibson Institute of Cognitive Research opens to connect with independent researchers, analyze current observational studies, submit publications to peer-reviewed journals, and standardize the collection of Gibson Tests. The institute is directed by educational psychologist Amy Lawson Moore, PhD.
2014 – ComprehendRx® launches
2013 – Lori Bryan, PhD, from University of Colorado Colorado Springs, writes “Dyslexia and Reading Problems” including extensive coverage of LearningRx programs and results.
2013 – Brian E. Pfister, PhD, publishes his dissertation, “The Effect of Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy on Memory and Processing Speed in Adolescents,” based on LearningRx data that included before and after Woodcock-Johnson III scores of 1,277 adolescents who were trained in LearningRx Centers.
2012 – Dr. Leonard J. Press writes Historical Perspectives on Auditory and Visual Processing for the Journal of Behavioral Optometry (Volume 23) naming Dr. Gibson as a pioneer in processing and cognitive enhancement.
2012 – Lori Bryan, PhD, from University of Colorado Colorado Springs, writes “Brain Plasticity and Cognition: A Review of the Literature” including extensive coverage of LearningRx programs and results.
2012 – Edward Jedlicka, PhD, uses an observational survey completed by parents to evaluate whether LearningRx brain training produced noticeable, real-life improvements in their children, especially in the areas of cognitive skills, academic success, and oppositional behavior. Jedlicka publishes a dissertation on his findings “The Real-Life Benefits of Cognitive Training.“
2011 – LearningRx releases its Results Report containing data on average gains derived from the scores of every client (nearly 3,000) who participated in LearningRx brain training in 2009 at 70 brain training centers throughout the U.S. The clients underwent an average of 18 weeks (90 hours) of training to improve logic & reasoning, short-term memory, processing speed, auditory and visual processing, and long-term memory. The results show that after brain training, clients with severe cognitive weaknesses “moved up in line” an average of 30 percentile points. Clients with moderate cognitive weaknesses “moved up in line” an average of 28 percentile points. Clients with above-average cognitive skills “moved up in line” an average of about 10 percentile points. Measurements of gains were measured using the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement.
2011 – Dr. Poonam Ishanpara analyzes the pre-test and post-test scores of 39 adults with traumatic brain injury. Her results indicate statistically significant differences in long-term memory, short-term memory, and working memory after LearningRx training. She publishes a dissertation on her findings: “Cognitive Rehabilitation with LearningRx: Preliminary Improvements in Memory After Traumatic Brain Injury.“
2011 – LearningRx is chosen to take part in a National Science Foundation study about how cognitive intervention can make permanent, significant changes to the brain. The project, which is led by Virginia State University Psychology Chair Dr. Oliver Hill, Jr., measures physical changes in the brain before, mid-way, and after the local child and teen participants undergo brain training by trainers from the Shreveport LearningRx Brain Training Center. In addition to the brain training, the first half of the study includes having participants take four surveys and the Gibson Cognitive Assessment. The second portion of the study uses functional Magnetic Resonance Imagining (fMRI) to provide images of the brain while the participants perform certain tasks. The scans are taken at the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. The results show significant post-training neuronal connections in the cerebellum.
2010 – LearningRx launches a pilot TBI brain training program at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington. In partnership with the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs, LearningRx provides brain training to soldiers with traumatic brain injuries in an effort to regain or improve brain skills impaired as a result of their injuries.
2010 – LearningRx releases its first data on retention results from 2005-2010. The results include pre- and post-test results and the percentage of gains retained (14.4 months average) following the post-training testing of 738 clients.
2009 – Doctoral student Alicia J. Luckey, MA, publishes a dissertation on “Cognitive and Academic Gains as a Result of Cognitive Training” after studying the impact of LearningRx brain training on General Intellectual Ability, memory, and reading in clients with ADHD, clients with dyslexia, and clients who were not reported to have any type of disability.
2009 – Dick Carpenter, PhD, writes “Testing the Effects of LearningRx: 2009 Control Group Study” based on the results of a 2009 LearningRx study that measured gains in cognitive abilities using the Woodcock-Johnson III.
2008 – Audiologists Dr. Jody Jedlicka and Dawn Booth, MS, present “The Impact of LearningRx Training: Auditory Processing Disorder Testing Results” at the annual LearningRx convention.
2007 – Doctoral student Alicia J. Luckey, MA, writes a paper, “Effectiveness of LearningRx Cognitive Skills Training Programs: An In-Depth Look at the Lowest Quartile,” using LearningRx 2006 T-81 training results of 2,080 clients who completed LearningRx programs in 2006
