Retraining the Brain – A New Approach to Treatment for Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a debilitating neurocognitive disease that affects about 2.4 million people in the United States alone.¹ Schizophrenic patients exhibit impaired working memory, attention, problem solving capabilities, and general social functions. Frequent negative hallucinations and delusions coupled with the inability to think clearly often lead them to lose their grip on reality, increasing the likelihood of suicide attempts in this group to 40 times that of the general population.¹ Traditionally, physicians have prescribed various antipsychotic medications to keep the hallucinations and delusions under control, although the underlying disordered cognition remains untreated. However, Pitt assistant professor of social work and psychiatry Shaun M. Eack and his colleague, physician Matcheri Keshavan, are investigating an exciting nondrug therapy intending to rehabilitate schizophrenic patients by enhancing their cognition, essentially retraining their brains.¹

Eack and Keshavan are continuing innovative research started by Gerard Hogarty, the late professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Hogarty was known for his use of Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET), originally used for rehabilitation of people with traumatic brain injuries, to improve cognition in schizophrenic patients.¹ CET mainly involves computer-based exercises that leverage the brain’s neuroplasticity to improve the cognitive functions in which schizophrenics are deficient.¹ Initial research has displayed promising results – neuroimaging scans of patients’ brains after CET showed decreased brain atrophy and increased growth of new brain tissue compared with brain scans before CET.¹ This groundbreaking research produced the first evidence of a clear structural neurobiological effect on schizophrenic patients’ brains by a nondrug treatment.¹ Initial study participants also saw improvements in social functions, task performance, work readiness, and general activities of daily life.

While the research is still ongoing to gather additional evidence of the therapy’s effectiveness, the initial results indicate that there is hope for those suffering from schizophrenia to regain cognitive abilities and see functional improvements beyond those afforded by traditional drug treatments.

-KB

Image credit: Life Mental Health @ Flickr

¹ Levin, Steve. "Think Again." Pitt Magazine Fall (2013): 18-21. Print.