A new form of treatment in neuroscience is emerging, and it’s called cognitive remediation. Cognitive remediation can, in its simplest terms, be thought of as “training” the brain. Current evidence supports its validity in improving cognitive deficiencies associated with psychopathological disorders and schizophrenia. However, in order to employ this method, it is important to identify the mental weaknesses or deficiencies that accompany different psychological conditions. With this information, different regimens of cognitive remediation can be tailored to address each disorder specifically. One study, conducted by Baskin-Sommers and colleagues has investigated the use of cognitive remediation in correcting impairments associated with
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For instance, they also make a crucial point about cognitive remediation: that cognitive remediation and any additional treatment tasks must be geared toward specific disorders or even individuals. This intuitively makes sense. To better illustrate this, think about cognitive remediation as an exercise regimen. In order to establish the proper routine, you need to first identify your weaknesses. For instance, if you feel you want to run faster, then lifting heavy weights probably won’t help as much as riding a bike or running on a treadmill. Granted, lifting weights might strengthen your muscles and help you run a bit faster, but a routine specifically designed to help you run faster would likely make a more dramatic and reliable difference. On the other hand, lifting heavy weights might simply make you heavier (as you gain muscle mass) so you actually become slower because you’re carrying extra weight. Similarly, regimens of cognitive remediation made up of irrelevant tasks might help or hurt the individual’s cognitive ability, but cognitive remediation designed for a particular disorder will likely be the most effective way to help individuals improve. Therefore, this research not only calls for further investigation of cognitive remediation, but also for a better understanding of the cognitive impairments associated with certain psychological
For instance, they also make a crucial point about cognitive remediation: that cognitive remediation and any additional treatment tasks must be geared toward specific disorders or even individuals. This intuitively makes sense. To better illustrate this, think about cognitive remediation as an exercise regimen. In order to establish the proper routine, you need to first identify your weaknesses. For instance, if you feel you want to run faster, then lifting heavy weights probably won’t help as much as riding a bike or running on a treadmill. Granted, lifting weights might strengthen your muscles and help you run a bit faster, but a routine specifically designed to help you run faster would likely make a more dramatic and reliable difference. On the other hand, lifting heavy weights might simply make you heavier (as you gain muscle mass) so you actually become slower because you’re carrying extra weight. Similarly, regimens of cognitive remediation made up of irrelevant tasks might help or hurt the individual’s cognitive ability, but cognitive remediation designed for a particular disorder will likely be the most effective way to help individuals improve. Therefore, this research not only calls for further investigation of cognitive remediation, but also for a better understanding of the cognitive impairments associated with certain psychological