Ecologically Valid Virtual Tasks vs Paper-pencil Methods in Cognitive Rehabilitation in Patients With Schizophrenia and Depression

This study compares effectiveness of the virtual environment cognitive rehabilitation program with standard paper-pencil approach in within-subject design. Participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or major depressive disorder will undergo a baseline assessment of cognition. The participants will be at the baseline randomly assigned to each condition: virtual environment rehabilitation or paper-pencil rehabilitation. Then they will participate in 10-15 sessions (30-45 minutes) once or twice a week. All participants will undergo retest assessment of cognition. After completion of the first program the participants will be assigned to the different condition: to paper-pencil or virtual environment rehabilitation. After 10-15 sessions in the second condition the participants will once more undergo retest assessment of cognition. Within-subject design is an effective tool in the development of scientifically proven treatment tools. This approach allows to obtain reliable information about the effectiveness of the method and to examine the influences of other variables (Steingrimsdottir and Arntzen 2015). This study will allow to get credible information on the importance of using the virtual environment in the context of cognitive rehabilitation in patients with schizophrenia and depression.