Objective: Motivation deficits remain an unmet treatment need in schizophrenia. Recent research has identified mechanisms underlying motivation deficits (i.e., impaired effort-cost computations, reduced future reward-value representation maintenance) that may be effective treatment targets to improve motivation. This study tested the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of Mobile Enhancement of Motivation in Schizophrenia (MEMS), an intervention that leverages mobile technology to target these mechanisms with text messages.

Method: Fifty-six participants with a schizophrenia-spectrum disorder were randomized to MEMS (n = 27) or a control condition (n = 29). All participants set recovery goals to complete over 8 weeks. Participants in the MEMS group additionally received personalized, interactive text messages on their personal cellphones each weekday.

Results: Retention and engagement in MEMS were high: 92.6% completed 8 weeks of MEMS, with an 86.1% text message response rate, and 100% reported being satisfied with the text messages. Compared to participants in the control condition, the participants in the MEMS condition had significantly greater improvements in interviewer-rated motivation and anticipatory pleasure and attained significantly more recovery-oriented goals at 8 weeks. There were no significant group differences in purported mechanisms (performance-based effort-cost computations and future reward-value representations) or in self-reported motivation, quality of life, or functioning.

Conclusion: Results demonstrate that MEMS is feasible as a brief, low-intensity mobile intervention that could effectively improve some aspects of motivation (i.e., initiation and maintenance of goal-directed behaviors) and recovery goal attainment for those with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. More work is needed with larger samples and to understand the mechanisms of change in MEMS. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9836765PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000599DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

motivation deficits
12
motivation
9
mobile enhancement
8
enhancement motivation
8
motivation schizophrenia
8
text message
8
effort-cost computations
8
future reward-value
8
mems
8
control condition
8

Similar Publications

Religious Coping in Parents of Children with Down Syndrome: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

J Relig Health

January 2025

Divisions of Pediatric Neurology and Genetics, and Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, 42090, Meram, Konya, Türkiye.

Having a child with Down syndrome (DS) is stressful for families. Social, physical, economic and emotional difficulties are the most challenging stressors for parents of children with DS. Therefore, parents who have children with DS have used various types of coping strategies.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Emotion dysregulation commonly co-occurs with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), leading to a range of negative outcomes. While psychological interventions have shown promise in bringing about positive changes in emotional and cognitive domains, there is still limited knowledge on the subjective experiences of change among the participants in these interventions.

Aim: The present study explores the experiences of adults with ADHD who had participated in a blended digital and face-to-face intervention aimed at improving emotion dysregulation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The Role of Social Deficits in the Link Between Social Gambling Motives and Problem Gambling.

J Gambl Stud

January 2025

Center on Alcohol, Substance Use, And Addictions (CASAA), University of New Mexico, 2650 Yale BLVD SE, Albuquerque, NM, USA.

In comparison to other motives for gambling, social motives (e.g., gambling for social interaction) are often suggested to be the least problematic and, in some cases, even a protective factor for problem gambling.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Anhedonia, a transdiagnostic symptom prevalent in depressive and psychotic disorders, poses a significant challenge for pharmacological intervention due to its association with impaired motivation. Understanding how psychotropic drugs can modulate this pathological domain and elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying such effects are crucial endeavors in psychiatric research. In this study, we aimed to investigate the pro-motivational properties of lurasidone in a rat (Sprague Dawley males) model of anhedonia and to unravel the interplay between lurasidone and the brain regions critical for reward processing.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Central amygdala NPBWR1 neurons facilitate social novelty seeking and new social interactions.

Sci Adv

January 2025

International Institute for Integrative Sleep Medicine (WPI-IIIS), University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 3058575, Japan.

The formation of new social interactions is vital for social animals, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain poorly understood. We identified CeA neurons, a population in central amygdala expressing neuropeptide B/W receptor-1 (NPBWR1), that play a critical role in these interactions. CeA neurons were activated during encounters with unfamiliar, but not with familiar, mice.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!