e-Motional Training®: Pilot study on a novel online training program on social cognition for patients with schizophrenia

AbstractBackgroundPatients with schizophrenia have deficits in social cognition (SC), a construct that includes emotion perception (EP), social perception (SP), theory of mind (ToM) and attributive style (AS). The aim of our study was to assess the applicability, identify potential problems and obtain preliminary data on the efficacy of a new online training program on SC called e-Motional Training (ET®), which can be remotely administered and remotely supervised by a clinician.Materials and methodsA pre/post intervention pilot study was conducted with 21 patients with schizophrenia in the healthcare area of Ourense, Spain (12 patients were assigned to the intervention group and 9 in the control group). The control group received standard treatment (TAU) (occupational therapy and leisure group). The intervention group received TAU plus 12 sessions (1hour per week) with ET® (including training modules on emotional perception and a short animated cartoon for ToM and AS training, including automated metacognitive feedback).Endpoints: EP (Ekman 60 Faces Test), ToM (Hinting Task, Faux Pas, Happé), AS (Ambiguous Intentions Hostility Questionnaire).ResultsET® was shown to be an understandable, viable and pleasant program for the participants. After the intervention, statistically significant data (p<0.05) were obtained for the EP, ToM and AS variables.ConclusionET® enables self-training in SC and online follow-up by the therapist, thereby covering the lack of online intervention instruments validated for patients with SC deficits. Our preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of ET® and its possible efficacy in improving emotion recognition, ToM and AS

Rehabilitación de cognición social a través de un videojuego en traumatismo craneoencefálico

En este artículo se revisan las investigaciones actuales relacionadas con la importancia de los déficits en cognición social en pacientes que han sufrido un traumatismo craneoencefálico y se describen los términos que generalmente se incluyen dentro de este concepto. Por otro lado, se expone una breve descripción de los hallazgos sobre la localización anatómica de estas funciones, así como de sus formas de evaluación más frecuentes. Por último, se detallan algunos de los programas de intervención más importantes que existen en la actualidad y el programa de rehabilitación en cognición social, E-motional training, que se está poniendo en marcha en el Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Ourense

Randomized Clinical Trial with e-MotionalTraining® 1.0 for Social Cognition Rehabilitation in Schizophrenia

BackgroundSchizophrenia patients present deficits in social cognition (SC), emotion and social perception, theory of mind (ToM), and attributional style. This study tested the efficacy, in real clinical conditions, of a online self-training program in SC, e-Motional Training®, in comparison with treatment as usual.MethodA randomized single-blinded multicenter clinical trial was conducted with 60 schizophrenia stable outpatients. All patients (control and intervention) were treated with drug therapy, case management, and individual and group psychotherapy (not focused on SC). Intervention group was treated with e-Motional Training®, an online program devised for SC rehabilitation.Statistical analysisA descriptive analysis and parametric/non-parametric tests were used to compare both groups at baseline. Analysis of covariance was used to compared post–pre changes in SC between the two interventions. If the group effect was significant, follow-up univariate test (t-test for dependent samples) was carried out in each group to verify whether the effect was due to improvement in the intervention group or deterioration in the control group. We considered statistically significant differences with P &lt; 0.05.ResultsSignificant improvements were obtained in the intervention group in emotion recognition and most ToM variables in comparison with the control group.Discussione-Motional Training® seems to be a promising online training tool for SC deficits in schizophrenia, covering the lack of similar intervention instruments in our community