Cognitive Training for Schizophrenia in Developing Countries: A Pilot Trial in Brazil

Abstract

Cognitive deficits in schizophrenia can massively impact functionality and quality of life, furthering the importance of cognitive training. Despite the development of the field in Europe and in the United States, no programmes have been developed and tested in developing countries. Different cultural backgrounds, budget restrictions, and other difficulties may render treatment packages created in high income countries difficult for adoption by developing nations. We performed a pilot double-blind, randomized, controlled trial in order to investigate the efficacy and feasibility of an attention and memory training programme specially created in a developing nation. The intervention used simple, widely available materials, required minimal infrastructure, and was conducted in groups. The sample included seventeen stable Brazilians with schizophrenia. Sessions were conducted weekly during five months. The cognitive training group showed significant improvements in inhibitory control and set-shifting over time. Both groups showed improvements in symptoms, processing speed, selective attention, executive function, and long-term visual memory. Improvements were found in the control group in long-term verbal memory and concentration. Our findings reinforce the idea that cognitive training in schizophrenia can be constructed using simple resources and infrastructure, facilitating its adoption by developing countries, and it may improve cognition.

Comprehensive family therapy: an effective approach for cognitive rehabilitation in schizophrenia

“…Third, a learning effect with RBANS cannot be fully excluded, but such an effect is likely to be modest after 6 months, and it may affect both groups equally. 28 Fourth, we did not record the use of antipsychotic medication during the follow-up period. This is likely to influence the results of RBANS because previous studies showed that cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia may be affected by antipsychotics.…”

Exploring the Impact of Teaching Reading, Writing, and Math on the Mental State of Schizophrenic Patients

“…Research has shown that life skills training, including social skills, is associated with improved patient cognitive function, especially in terms of verbal ability, information processing speed, and memory. Some research has shown that these kinds of training increase problem-solving skills, the quality of conversational skills, cognitive interactions, positive symptoms, long-term visual memory, self-expression, and communication with others while reducing relapse periods [22][23][24][25]. On the other hand, reading, writing, and math training are cognitive in nature, which is related to their effect on the psychological symptoms of patients with schizophrenia.…”

“…* [22][23][24][25] 3. ‫مثبت‬ ‫حافظه‬ ‫است،‬ ‫گذشته‬ ‫مثبت‬ ‫تجارب‬ ‫بر‬ ‫مداخله‬ ‫تمرکز،‬ ‫بیشترین‬ ‫که‬ ‫آنجا‬ ‫از‬ [28].…”

Caracterização do comprometimento cognitivo da esquizofrenia resistente a clozapina

“…Além da ECT, outras intervenções não farmacológicas como a terapia cognitivo-comportamental (TCC), tem se mostrado eficaz tanto na esquizofrenia de modo geral (Turner et al, 2020) como especificamente na ERC (Barretto et al, 2009). Intervenções psicossociais mais focais, como o treinamento de habilidades sociais para sintomas negativos (THS-SN) e treinamento cognitivo (TC) não parecem ter eficácia significante na redução sintomática (Kayo et al, 2020;Pontes et al, 2013), contudo, é necessário salientar que os estudos citados possuem limitações importantes como tamanho amostral pequeno, portanto seus resultados precisam ser cautelosamente interpretados.…”