Computerized cognitive training is associated with improved psychosocial treatment engagement in schizophrenia.

Poor treatment engagement is an enduring problem in the care of patients with schizophrenia. Evidence suggests that targeted cognitive training (TCT) improves cognition and functional outcomes, but this time-consuming intervention might reduce patients' engagement in other treatment activities when implemented in real-world settings. This is especially true of residential care programs which encourage patients to engage in group therapies, self-care, and a wide variety of structured social, work, and other rehabilitation activities. This study aimed to determine whether TCT negatively impacts engagement in other psychosocial treatments. Patients with schizophrenia were recruited from a community-based residential care program and randomized to one of two intervention arms: treatment as usual (TAU; n = 22) or TAU augmented with TCT (n = 24). Psychosocial treatment engagement was tracked over 20 weeks. Treatment groups did not significantly differ on baseline variables or psychosocial treatment engagement in the 5 weeks prior to randomization. TCT had a positive effect on engagement (ß = 0.112, p = 0.003), but there was no treatment-by-time interaction (ß = -0.029, p = 0.672). Participants in TCT engaged in an average of 1.34 additional group therapies, 0.58 additional activities of daily living, and 0.84 additional rehabilitation activities per week in comparison to TAU participants. Baseline cognition was also a significant predictor of psychosocial treatment engagement. Overall, results suggest that TCT can be implemented in real-world settings without negatively impacting engagement in other psychosocial treatments. Additional studies are needed to determine what role nonspecific factors play in the positive impact of TCT.

Targeted cognitive training improves auditory and verbal outcomes among treatment refractory schizophrenia patients mandated to residential care.

Computerized targeted cognitive training (TCT) of auditory processing has been shown to improve verbal learning in several clinical trials of schizophrenia outpatients. Less is known, however, about the effectiveness of this promising intervention in more chronic, treatment-refractory patients who are treated in non-academic settings. This study aimed to determine whether TCT improves auditory processing, verbal learning, and clinical symptoms in SZ patients mandated to receive care at a locked residential rehabilitation center. Secondarily, potential factors that moderate TCT's effectiveness including age, symptom severity, antipsychotic medication load, and duration of illness were examined. Schizophrenia patients were randomized to treatment as usual (TAU; n = 22) or TAU augmented with TCT (TAU + TCT; n = 24). Outcomes included a measure of auditory perception (Word-In-Noise test, WIN), verbal learning domain scores from the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), and clinical symptoms (Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms, SAPS; Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms, SANS). TCT produced significant improvements in auditory perception (d = 0.67) and verbal learning (d = 0.65); exploratory analyses revealed a statistically significant reduction in auditory hallucinations (d = -0.64). TCT's effects were only weakly, and mostly non-significantly, moderated by age, clinical symptoms, medication, and illness duration. These findings indicate that even highly symptomatic, functionally disabled patients with chronic illness benefit from this emerging treatment. Ongoing studies will examine the predictive utility of neurophysiological biomarkers and other characteristics assessed at baseline.

Predicting early positive change in multisystemic therapy with youth exhibiting antisocial behaviors.

This study examined individual and family characteristics that predicted early positive change in the context of Multisystemic Therapy (MST). Families (n = 185; 65% male; average youth age 15 years) receiving MST in community settings completed assessments at the outset of treatment and 6-12 weeks into treatment. Early positive changes in youth antisocial behavior were assessed using the caregiver report on the Child Behavior Checklist Externalizing Behaviors subscale and youth report on the Self-Report Delinquency Scale. Overall, families showed significant positive changes by 6-12 weeks into treatment; these early changes were maintained into midtreatment 6-12 weeks later. Families who exhibited clinically significant gains early in treatment were more likely to terminate treatment successfully compared with those who did not show these gains. Low youth internalizing behaviors and absence of youth drug use predicted early positive changes in MST. High levels of parental monitoring and low levels of affiliation with deviant peers (mechanisms known to be associated with MST success) were also associated with early positive change.