Cognitive Enhancement Therapy Reverses Brain Shrinkage in Schizophrenics
Mar 29, 2018

Grace Armstrong
Core Spirit member since Dec 24, 2020
Reading time 2 min.

People with schizophrenia face losing brain cells. This mental disorder is characterized by the gradual elimination of brain matter that functions fundamental social and comprehension skills. Up until now, researchers have battled with ways to halt and possibly reverse the degeneration of these cells without the use of drugs.

Matcheri S. Keshavan, M.D., of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues seem to have discovered a cognitive enhancement therapy that appears to be doing just that.

This type of therapy “can protect against gray matter loss and may even support gray matter growth in medial temporal areas of the brain in service of cognitive enhancement among patients with early course schizophrenia,” Keshavan and colleagues wrote online in Archives of General Psychiatry.

The only problem is more research needs to be done to figure out which parts of the brain are growing. This would help to indicate the true value of their findings.

Nevertheless, this proves to be a good start.

Gray matter is the tissue that makes up cell bodies within the brain. White matter refers to the filaments that extend from the cell bodies. More volume in these areas usually indicates a person is functioning at a higher level.

To conduct this study, Keshavan and colleagues administered cognitive enhancement therapy or an enriched supportive therapy (the control program) to 53 stable patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

The cognitive enhancement therapy involved “innovative cognitive exercises and psychoeducation that foster the development of social-cognitive abilities and effective social interaction,” said Keshavan. They had hoped this approach would help patients overcome the hurdles of the social deficits of schizophrenia.

Patients were placed in groups of two. Then received a high-tech cognitive therapy, which involved using a computer-based tool to administer neurocognitive training. The Orientation Remediation Module created by Yehuda Ben-Yishay, PhD, and PSSCogReHab software developed by Odie Bracy, PhD was utilized in this study.

“Generalization to real-world settings is an explicit goal of cognitive enhancement therapy, and is promoted through weekly homework assignments and individual coaching sessions tailored to the unique needs of the patient,” Keshavan wrote.

Patients who received cognitive enhancement therapy proved to have increases in volume in the left hippocampus, left amygdala, and left fusiform gyrus (areas that handle social cognition). Also, small increases occurred in the right, left and frontal lobes.

Patients in the control group continued to experience brain shrinkage.

Keshavan and colleagues concluded that the program “can have direct benefits to the brains of patients with schizophrenia.”

Their approach proved to actually cause physical changes to occur in the brain. Up until now, no other cognitive therapy had helped to reverse brain shrinkage.

by Rochelle Oliver For PsychCentral


Leave your comments / questions for this practitioner

To write a comment please
or
Services
Category filter
Concern filter
Type filter
Sort
 

All categories

Personality Psychology
$80 USD
therapy session
Individual Counselling Session (60 minutes)

I offer a compassionate counselling service that is unique to every woman and her situation. Allowing you to feel heard and understood in a safe environment free from shame and judgement.

My aim is to support and empower women through periods of change and emotionally difficult times. Empowering women to navigate their life and the mess that it can sometimes feel like it’s in with insight, respect, hope and strength.

I believe you have the desire and the capacity to grow towards fulfilling your true potential, and that you’re the expert on your own life. Counselling is a way of assisting you to identify and define your emotional issues and to help you better understand yourself.

Therefore, I don’t give advice. I will work with you to help you understand yourself more fully and to find your own inner resources. With greater self-awareness and trust in yourself, I hope that you will be able to make constructive changes, leading to a more satisfying and meaningful life.

I apply an integrated approach to counselling, meaning that I combine different but complementary counselling methods that have been taken from different models of therapy. These are Person-Centred Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Solution Focused Therapy. Using an integrative approach allows me to be flexible in providing a service that suits your situation.

I offer face-to-face and online individual counselling sessions, allowing women to openly talk about their emotional challenges.

Hayley Fualau
Personality Psychology
$150 USD
therapy session
Individual Psychotherapy

Are you seeking a therapist that sees you as a whole person - mind, body, and spirit, in the context of your lived experience and culture? Do you need someone to meet you where you are, without assumptions? Are you seeking help in your personal growth and healing?

All clinicians and support options are not the same. I am guided by a core philosophy that all human beings have an innate desire for balance, healing, and growth. Your definition of these concepts and your journey to achieve them is unique to you, your child, or your family.

Contact me to discuss scheduling.

Maybe you have specific complaints, stressors, or goals that you would like help navigating; perhaps you feel ready to strive for the next level of personal growth. Holistic Psychotherapy can offer the comprehensive tools and support you need to overcome personal challenges, interpersonal challenges, and to reach a healthier state of being. With the help and support of your therapist, you will be able to utilize your innate strengths to find yourself reaching the goals and understanding you seek in a safe and nonjudgmental space.

Stacey Wright
Personality Psychology
$750 USD
healing session
FALLING OUT OF LOVE

Finding it hard to get over that last relationship? Loving someone who is bad for you? These 4 hourly sessions will help place you into a mentally healthier place leaving behind the negative relationship and its lingering thoughts.

Jane Nash
Personality Psychology
$15 USD
therapy session
Counselling

Facing difficulty in concentrating, relationships, academics, emotional concerns, stress etc. Counselling helps resolve these by aiding you with the necessary skills and cope up with these. Get in touch with our expert and professional counsellors/ psychologists.

Emotional well being helpline

Related Articles

View All
Registered individuals enjoy all the possibilities of Core Spirit.