Improving social cognition in schizophrenia: A pilot intervention combining computerized social cognition training with cognitive remediation

Abstract

Background: Social cognition is significantly impaired in schizophrenia and contributes to poor community functioning. This study examined whether cognitive remediation (CR; COGPACK), shown to improve neurocognition, improves an integral component of social cognition, emotion perception, compared with CR combined with a computerized Emotion Perception intervention (Mind Reading: Interactive Guide to Emotions [MRIGE]).Methods: 59 stable schizophrenia or schizoaffective predominantly inpatients were randomized to either CR (N = 27) alone or CR + MRIGE (N = 32) for 12 weeks. Assessments included the Facial Emotion Identification Task (FEIT), Facial Emotion Discrimination Task (FEDT), MCCB-MATRICS, Personal and Social Performance Scale, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale.Results: There was a significant group-by-time effect on FEIT (F = 11.509, P =. 004); CR + MRIGE demonstrated significantly greater improvement than CR alone (CR + MRIGE, Z = 1.89, P =. 05; CR alone Z = 0.57, P =. 13). There was significant group-by-time effect on FEDT (F = 5.663, P =. 022); CR + MRIGE demonstrated significantly greater improvement than CR alone (CR + MRIGE, Z = 1.90, P =. 05; CR alone Z = 0.67, P =. 21). There was also a significant group by time effect for social cognition, measured by the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (F = 5.473, P =. 050): CR + MRIGE demonstrated significantly greater improvement than CR alone (CR + MRIGE, Z = 1.98, P =. 02; CR alone, Z = 1.00, P =. 05).Conclusions: Combined CR with emotion perception remediation produced greater improvements in emotion recognition, emotion discrimination, social functioning, and neurocognition compared with CR alone in chronic schizophrenia. © 2012 The Author.