The meeting preparation task: Validation of a new measure of everyday life functioning with persons diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Poster (2012, June 25)

Objective: The objective was to create a new measure of everyday life functioning by developing a computerized real-life activity task where participants are asked to prepare a room for a meeting ... [more ▼]

Objective: The objective was to create a new measure of everyday life functioning by developing a computerized real-life activity task where participants are asked to prepare a room for a meeting. Background: Difficulties in everyday life activities are core features of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia. However, everyday life functioning is usually evaluated with questionnaires, performance-based or observation assessments, all of which contain a number of limits. Method: Twenty-one individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and 21 matched healthy controls completed the computerized meeting preparation task. Patients were also evaluated with an extensive cognitive battery and several measures of symptomatology and everyday life functioning. Results: Results showed that performance on the computerized task significantly differentiated patients and controls for a certain number of variables. These variables, summarized in a global score, were significantly correlated with both cognitive and everyday life functioning. Moreover, this composite score significantly predicted 39% of everyday life functioning, whereas a cognitive composite score only predicted 22%. In addition, when the meeting task composite score was combined with symptomatology and the cognitive composite score, these measures significantly predicted up to 73% of everyday life functioning. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the meeting preparation task provides a good indication of the level of everyday life functioning in patients with schizophrenia, and may be viewed as a valuable instrument in both an evaluation and remediation context. [less ▲]

An individualized and everyday life approach to cognitive rehabilitation in schizophrenia: A case illustration

in Rehabilitation Research and Practice (2012)

Objective. The effectiveness of an individualized and everyday approach to cognitive rehabilitation for schizophrenia was examined in a case study. Method. After cognitive and functional assessment ... [more ▼]

Objective. The effectiveness of an individualized and everyday approach to cognitive rehabilitation for schizophrenia was examined in a case study. Method. After cognitive and functional assessment, concrete objectives were targeted for the person’s everyday complaints. Strategies were constructed based on an analysis of the cognitive profile, daily life functioning, and processes involved in activities. They included a memory strategy for reading, a diary to compensate memory difficulties, and working memory exercises to improve immediate processing of information when reading and following conversations. Efficacy was assessed with outcome measures. Results. The program had beneficial effects on the person’s cognitive and everyday functioning, which persisted at a 3-year follow-up. Conclusion. Findings provide suggestive evidence that an individualized and everyday approach may be a useful alternative in order to obtain ameaningfully lasting transfer of training to daily life, compared to the nomothetic ones which dominate the field. [less ▲]

Caractérisation des difficultés dans la vie quotidienne de personnes souffrant de schizophrénie en rapport avec les facteurs cognitifs et cliniques

in ALTER, European Journal of Disability Research (2012), 6

This study, which included 45 persons suffering from schizophrenia, had four aims: 1. to characterize difficulties patients have with daily-life activities using the Profinteg questionnaire; 2. to ... [more ▼]

This study, which included 45 persons suffering from schizophrenia, had four aims: 1. to characterize difficulties patients have with daily-life activities using the Profinteg questionnaire; 2. to identify the cognitive processes that are predictive of the total level of difficulty; 3. to identify the cognitive processes involved in a multi-tasking activity assessed in real situation: the meeting preparation task; 4. to characterize the intra- and inter-individual variability of performances in cognitive tests and functional task. The results indicated that inhibition plays an important role in a large number of meet initiation difficulties in the Profinteg questionnaire. Concerning the meeting preparation task, the assessed cognitive functions explained 26 to 43 % of the variance in several functional measures: the index of goal achievement, the index of prospective memory, the number of errors and the number of times a rule was not respected. Furthermore, flexibility and processing speed were found to be the best predictors of the task. Finally, various cognitive and functional profiles were observed. These results suggest the necessity, on an individual level, of putting together both cognitive and functional capacities in order to establish a personalized cognitive remediation program. [less ▲]

Impact des déficits cognitifs dans les activités de la vie quotidienne des personnes souffrant de schizophrénie

in Annales Médico-Psychologiques (2011), 169

It is now well recognized that cognitive dysfonctions contribute to a decisive way to the difficulties of the everyday, social and professional life of the people with schizophrenia. The cognitive ... [more ▼]

It is now well recognized that cognitive dysfonctions contribute to a decisive way to the difficulties of the everyday, social and professional life of the people with schizophrenia. The cognitive variables would explain between 16 and 30 % of the variance in the functional status when assessed one to three and a half years later. However, the specificity of the complex relationships between the cognitive domains and the functional variables still remain to identify. To this end, it is necessary to carry out studies by respecting various principles: 1. Selecting not multi-determined cognitive tasks; 2. Investigating specific daily-life tasks (e.g. shopping, choosing a menu, preparing a meal), in particular by an observation in real situation in order to identify the problematic components; this has to be made by determining a priori hypotheses regarding the cognitive nature of the difficulties; 3. Taking into account the heterogeneity of the cognitive deficits and the functional difficulties of people with schizophrenia. It also remains to investigate the presence of mediator variables of the relationships, such as the potential of learning, the social cognition, the metacognitive processes and the intrinsic motivation. Besides, other personal or environmental factors can also play a role in the functional status as for example, the negative symptoms, the awareness that has the person of his(her) state and its consequences, or the critical attitude of relatives towards the person with schizophrenia. [less ▲]

Cognitive rehabilitation of the updating sub-component of working memory in schizophrenia: a case study.

in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (2009), 19(2), 244-73

Working memory problems have been identified as a core cognitive deficit in schizophrenia. In this paper, we present the results of a cognitive rehabilitation programme (Duval & Coyette, 2005 ... [more ▼]

Working memory problems have been identified as a core cognitive deficit in schizophrenia. In this paper, we present the results of a cognitive rehabilitation programme (Duval & Coyette, 2005) administered to a schizophrenia patient, and specifically designed to improve the updating sub-component of working memory. The original feature of this programme was that it involved two types of updating exercises: cognitive and ecological. The purpose was to enable the patient to acquire cognitive strategies that alleviate the mental load of the central executive and to transfer them to daily life. The specificity and efficacy of the programme were assessed with multiple (cognitive, ecological and non-target) baseline measurements. In addition, several questionnaires were administered to assess the effect of the programme on subjective cognitive complaints affecting daily life, psychiatric symptoms and self-esteem. The results demonstrated the efficacy of the rehabilitation programme on the updating function and the generalisation of these beneficial effects to daily life. A significant decrease in both subjective cognitive complaints and psychiatric symptoms was also observed. However, the patient's self-esteem did not improve. [less ▲]

Computerized assessment of cognition in schizophrenia: promises and pitfalls of CANTAB.

in European Psychiatry (2007), 22(2), 104-15

OBJECTIVE: Over the last decade, the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), which comprises visuo-spatial tasks, has been utilized in cognitive studies of schizophrenia. A clear ... [more ▼]

OBJECTIVE: Over the last decade, the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), which comprises visuo-spatial tasks, has been utilized in cognitive studies of schizophrenia. A clear approach concerning the usage of CANTAB for the appraisal of neurocognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia is currently lacking. METHOD: In this paper, we have first reviewed the overall applications of CANTAB and then evaluated methodological strengths and weaknesses of CANTAB as a neurocognitive battery for schizophrenia. We carried out a systematic search and assessment of studies where CANTAB was utilized to measure cognitive function in schizophrenia. We have also attempted to quantify the available data and perform a meta-analysis, but this approach turned out to be still premature. RESULTS: CANTAB has enabled researchers to highlight significant deficits affecting broad cognitive domains in schizophrenia, such as working memory, decision-making, attention, executive functions and visual memory. So far, the most consistent deficit observed with CANTAB testing has been attentional set-shifting, suggestive of fronto-striatal dysfunctions. In addition, preliminary evidence points towards the potential use of CANTAB to identify cognitive predictors of psychosocial functioning, to describe the relationships between symptoms and cognition, and to measure the impact of pharmacological agents on cognitive functioning. CONCLUSION: CANTAB has been used successfully to highlight the range of visuo-spatial cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, producing similar results to those obtained with some traditional neuropsychological tests. Further studies validating the use of CANTAB following the standard set by Measurement And Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) are warranted. [less ▲]