The Effects of Cognitive Remediation on Negative Symptoms in Schizophrenia-Spectrum Illness: A Meta-analytic Investigation of Efficacy.

Background And Hypothesis: The number of clinical efficacy trials of Cognitive Remediation (CR), a behavioral intervention consisting of cognitive task practice and/or strategy training to improve cognitive skills in schizophrenia, has increased substantially over the past 25 years. While recent reviews have highlighted the effects of CR on cognition and function, CR effects on negative symptoms remain understudied. Given the overlap between negative symptoms and cognition, CR effects might be expected.

Cognitive training for schizophrenia: Do race and ethnicity matter?

Racial disparities in diagnosis, treatment, and outcome have been well-established for people with schizophrenia. While cognitive remediation treatments have been shown to produce mild to moderate improvements in cognition for people with schizophrenia, few studies have examined racial/ethnic differences in treatment response. This study employed a secondary analysis of data from two randomized, single-blind controlled trials (N = 119) investigating the efficacy of two forms of cognitive training, to explore potential racial/ethnic differences in targeted outcomes.

Do metacognitive therapies for schizophrenia-spectrum disorders work? A meta-analytic investigation.

Recent reviews and meta-analyses of metacognitive therapy for schizophrenia-spectrum disorder (SSD) have included uncontrolled studies, single-session interventions, and/or analyses limited to a single form of metacognitive therapy. We sought to evaluate the efficacy of metacognitive therapies more broadly based on controlled trials (CT) of sustained treatments. We conducted a pre-registered meta-analysis of controlled trials that investigated the effects of meta-cognitive therapies on primary positive symptom outcomes, and secondary symptom, function and/or insight measures.

A meta-analytic investigation of cognitive remediation for mood disorders: Efficacy and the role of study quality, sample and treatment factors.

Background: The number of randomized, controlled studies of cognitive remediation (CR) for mood disorders (major depressive disorder [MDD] and bipolar illness [BD]), has grown substantially over the past 10 years. The role of study quality, participant characteristics, and intervention features in CR treatment effects remains largely unknown.

Methods: Electronic databases were searched up to February 2022 using variants of the key words: "cognitive remediation", "clinical trials", "major depressive disorder" and "bipolar disorder".

A meta-analysis of social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: Does world region matter?

Individuals with schizophrenia (SCZs) demonstrate social cognitive (SC) deficits across a variety of social cognitive tasks: affect recognition, social perception, Theory-of-Mind (ToM), and attributional style. These tasks all use socially-relevant words, social scenarios, clothing, faces and voices that may make their application to different cultural contexts problematic. However a paucity of research has investigated the cross-cultural validity of SC measures.

A meta-analysis of the effects of social-cognitive training in schizophrenia: The role of treatment characteristics and study quality.

Objectives: This meta-analysis was designed to assess the effects of social-cognitive training (SCT) and whether study quality, treatment approach, treatment context, and sample characteristics influence these effects.

Methods: Electronic databases were searched up to 5 August 2020 using variants of keywords: 'social cognition', 'training', 'rehabilitation', 'remediation', and 'schizophrenia'. Methodological moderators were extracted through the Clinical Trials Assessment Measure and verified by authors.

The alliance-outcome relationship in individual psychosocial treatment for schizophrenia and early psychosis: A meta-analysis.

The therapeutic alliance, or client-provider relationship, has been associated with better treatment engagement and outcomes for persons with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SSDs) and early psychosis in some studies, but not others. We conducted a meta-analysis of the research on alliance in SSDs and early psychosis across a range of interventions and outcomes. Parallel literature searches were conducted in PubMed and PsycINFO databases for articles between inception and 6/11/2020.

A Meta-analysis of Cognitive Remediation for Schizophrenia: Efficacy and the Role of Participant and Treatment Factors.

The number of randomized, controlled studies of cognitive remediation (CR) for schizophrenia, a therapeutic approach designed to improve cognitive skills and function, has grown substantially over the past 20 years. Active elements of CR treatment, however, remain unknown. The current meta-analysis investigated treatment, study, and participant factors in the size of observed treatment effects.

What variables predict cognitive remediation associated improvement in individuals with psychosis?

On average, cognitive remediation (CR) is effective in improving cognitive function in individuals with psychosis, though there is considerable variability in treatment response. No consensus has emerged to date about the potential influence of patient and illness characteristics on CR efficacy. In the current analyses, we examined baseline demographic, cognitive, clinical, and functional ability variables as potential moderators of cognitive improvements during a randomized, controlled trial of a hybrid drill-and-practice plus strategy training CR intervention.

The synergistic benefits of physical and cognitive exercise in schizophrenia: Promoting motivation to enhance community effectiveness.

Emerging research highlights the potential cognitive benefits of physical exercise (PE) programs for schizophrenia (SCZ). The few recent efficacy studies that examined augmenting cognitive training (CT) with PE suggest superior effects of the combination. The next step is to consider strategies to enhance adherence in real-world settings if this type of combined treatment is going to be effective.

The relationship between the therapeutic alliance and client variables in individual treatment for schizophrenia spectrum disorders and early psychosis: Narrative review.

Given the high rates of treatment disengagement and medication nonadherence in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders and early psychosis, fostering a strong alliance in treatment is critical. Moreover, the role of the therapeutic alliance extends beyond that in traditional psychotherapy because of the multifaceted nature of treatment. Thus, this review provides a comprehensive discussion of the relationship between the alliance and client variables across various provider types and individual treatments.

Objective psychosocial function vs. subjective quality-of-life in schizophrenia within 5-years after diagnosis: A study from southern India.

There is increasing interest from treaters and patients alike in subjective quality-of-life (sQOL) and objective psychosocial function as indices of treatment outcome in studies of schizophrenia. With the emergence of evidence-based treatment protocols (e.g.

The effects of cognitive-focused interventions on cognition and psychological well-being in persons with multiple sclerosis: A meta-analysis.

Cognitive impairment affects more than half of persons with multiple sclerosis (PwMS), and it is associated with difficulties in multiple aspects of daily functioning. There is a growing body of literature that has explored the use of cognitive-focused interventions in PwMS, which aim to improve cognition-related function through drill and practice exercises, training in compensatory strategies, or a combination of the two. The current study aimed to expand upon previously published meta-analyses in this area, exploring the effects of cognitive-focused interventions on objective and subjective functioning in PwMS, as well as determining demographic and treatment-related factors that may influence intervention efficacy.

Cognition, social cognition and functional disability in early-stage schizophrenia: A study from southern India.

In high-income countries a wealth of studies has revealed cognitive and social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and a close relationship of these deficits to psychosocial functioning. Studies examining these illness features in middle and low-income countries are rare, particularly in early-stage samples. Sixty adult participants within 5 years of diagnosis with schizophrenia and 53 matched, healthy control were assessed with the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery and the PEAT emotion identification task at study entry, and the WHODAS functioning scale one year later.

The Duration of Untreated Psychosis: A Phenomenological Study.

Mounting evidence has indicated that early intervention leads to improved clinical and functional outcomes for young persons experiencing recent onset psychosis. As part of a large early detection campaign, the present study aimed to investigate subjective experiences during the duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), or time between psychosis onset and treatment contact. Participants were 10 young adults participating in early intervention services for psychosis.

Verbal Learning and Memory Enhancement Strategies in Schizophrenia: A Randomized, Controlled Investigation.

Objectives: Verbal episodic memory is a key domain of impairment in people with schizophrenia with close ties to a variety of aspects of functioning and therapeutic treatment response. A randomized, blinded trial of two mnemonic strategies for verbal episodic memory deficits for people with schizophrenia was conducted.

Methods: Sixty-one people with schizophrenia were assigned to one of three experimental conditions: training in a mnemonic strategy that included both visualization and narrative structure (Story Method), a condition in which participants were trained to visualize words interacting with one another (Imagery), or a non-trained control condition in which participants received equivalent exposure to training word lists and other verbal memory assessments administered in the other two conditions, but without provision of any compensatory mnemonic strategy.

Cognitive remediation for adults with schizophrenia: Does age matter?

Cognitive remediation (CR), a novel behavioral intervention designed to improve cognitive deficits through repeated task practice and/or strategy acquisition has gained increasing empirical support in people with schizophrenia, but substantial individual differences in treatment response remain (Wykes et al., 2011). The role of age on response to CR in schizophrenia remains understudied.

Can brain games help smokers quit?: Results of a randomized clinical trial.

Background And Aims: Deficits in cognitive function are observed during nicotine withdrawal and present a challenge to successful smoking cessation. This clinical trial evaluated a cognitive exercise training (CT) program to improve smoking cessation rates.

Methods: Adult treatment-seeking smokers (n=213) were randomized to receive nicotine patch therapy and 12 weeks of either computerized CT or computerized relaxation (control) training.

Examining the durability of a hybrid, remote and computer-based cognitive remediation intervention for adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

Aim: Schizophrenia and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) share similar patterns of cognitive deficits. Up to 30% of those with 22q11DS develop schizophrenia during early adulthood.

Neuroplastic Changes Following Social Cognition Training in Schizophrenia: A Systematic Review.

Social cognitive impairment is a key feature of schizophrenia and social cognition training (SCT) is a promising tool to address these deficits. Neurobiological dysfunction in schizophrenia has been widely researched, but neuronal changes induced by SCT have been scarcely explored. This review aims to assess the neuroplastic effects of SCT in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

The relationship between change in cognition and change in functional ability in schizophrenia during cognitive and psychosocial rehabilitation.

While a wealth of studies have evaluated cross-sectional links between cognition and functioning in schizophrenia, few have investigated the relationship between change in cognition and change in functioning in the context of treatment trials targeted at cognition. Identifying cognitive skills that, when improved, predict improvement in functioning will guide the development of more targeted rehabilitation for this population. The present study identifies the relationship between change in specific cognitive skills and change in functional ability during one year of cognitive rehabilitation.

Comprehensive treatments for social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: A critical review and effect-size analysis of controlled studies.

Recent advances in psychosocial treatments for schizophrenia have targeted social cognitive deficits. A critical literature review and effect-size (ES) analysis was conducted to investigate the efficacy of comprehensive programs of social cognitive training in schizophrenia. Results revealed 16 controlled studies consisting of seven models of comprehensive treatment with only three of these treatment models investigated in more than one study.