A Short Course Computer-assisted Cognitive Remediation in Patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) is used to improve cognitive functioning in patients with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSDs). Most of the previous studies had incorporated a long rehabilitation program. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a short and easy to implement computer-based CRT on cognitive performance in patients with SSDs using a randomized controlled trial design.

Sixty-Two patients with SSDs were enrolled in Roozbeh Hospital (Tehran City, Iran); they were randomized to either receive a CRT program added to the standard pharmacological treatment (n=31) or the standard treatment alone (n=31). The remediation consisted of 10 sessions of CRT provided 2-3 times a week applying the Cogpack software. The cognitive performance was assessed in attention, memory, and executive functions before and after the intervention using the respective tests of the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB).

This study did not demonstrate any significant improvement in attention and executive function between the experimental and control group. However, we observed modest improvements in some aspects of visual memory (first trial memory score, F=9.152, P<0.001, Cohen’s d=0.40; mean errors to success, F=6.991, P=0.011, Cohen’s d=0.14; stages completed on the first trial, F=7.155, P=0. 010, Cohen’s d=0.71; total errors, F=5.730, P=0.020, Cohen’s d=0.53).

We observed only modest improvements in the patients’ cognitive functioning after a short course of CRT. The short duration of the training and lack of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan may explain the obtained findings.