Cognitive Skills Training Using Computer for Patients With Severe Mental Illness

Subjects are stable inpatients and outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder who are receiving atipsychotic medication at Manhattan Psychiatric Center. Patients receive baseline assessments (MCCB-MATRICS; Personal and Social Performance Scale, FEDT/FEIT and PANSS) and then are assigned to Cognitive Remediation (CRT) using the COGPACK program, patients are then randomly assigned to a social cognition program (Mind Reader Interactive Guide to Emotions) for a period of 12 weeks. Following 12 weeks of treatment in either CRT + Mind Reader or CRT alone, assessments are repeated by raters. Cognitive Remediation (CRT): CRT (COGPACK, Marker and Olbrich, 1998) consists of computerized practice tests for seven cognitive domains. There are 64 programs for testing and training, each with several variants for the domains of visuomotor skills, comprehension, reaction, vigilance, memory, language, and intellectual skills. Exercises in COGPACK can be edited and expanded. Patients attend 2 (45-minutes each) groups and 1 discussion group. Social Cognition Training: Mind Reader (Baron-Cohen et al, 2004) is an interactive computerized program of emotions and mental states. It is based on a taxonomic system of 412 emotions and mental states, grouped into 24 emotion groups, and six developmental levels (from age 4 to adulthood). The emotions and mental states are organized systematically, according to the emotion groups and developmental levels. Patients assigned to Mind Reader attend 1 group per week. Both the CRT and Mind Reader are administered in small groups of six to eight patients each.