Effect of Computerized Cognitive Remediation in Patients with Schizophrenia

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of computerized cognitive remediation through 3 months randomized controlled trial in Indian patients with schizophrenia. Nineteen chronic schizophrenic patients were recruited and randomized into Cognitive Training (CT) and Treatment as Usual (TAU) groups. Neuropsychological assessments were done before and after 3 months of cognitive training on the developed program. As compared to TAU, the CT group exhibited significant improvement in speed of processing (p= 0.031, 95% Confidence Interval CI [-90.36 to -29.64], large effect size Φ = 0.7) and sustained attention (digit span - time, (p= 0.015, 95% CI [-99.40 to -41.60], large effect size Φ = 0.7)). The outcome of this study shows that the computerized cognitive training is feasible and useful in treating cognitive deficits in Indian patients with schizophrenia.