Effectiveness of computer-based cognitive rehabilitation on executive functions and severity of symptoms in participants with major depressive disorder

The main goal of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-based cognitive rehabilitation in order to improve executive functions and reduce severity of clinical symptoms in individuals suffering from major depression.

The present study is one of the semi-experimental designs in which pre-test and post-test designs along with control group is used. The statistical population includes individuals with major depressive disorder who are from both genders and are 19 to 40 years old. Participants suffering from major depressive disorder who were selected by purposeful and convenience sampling method and randomly assigned to one of two groups of experiment (n=15) and control (n=15). In order to diagnose depressive disorder, a structured clinical interview according to the criteria of the text of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) were used. Cognitive interventions, attention and memory exercises, were performed in 12 sessions of 45 minutes three times a week on participants with major depressive disorder.

The results of analysis of covariance showed that the computer-based rehabilitation program has improved executive functions and reduced the severity of depressive symptoms (P<0.05).

Our findings indicate that computer cognitive rehabilitation can be used as a suitable method to improve executive functions and reduce the severity of depressive symptoms in people suffering from major depressive disorder.