Combined neurocognitive and metacognitive rehabilitation in schizophrenia: Effects on bias against disconfirmatory evidence

BackgroundA Metacognitive Training for Schizophrenia patients (MCT) was developed to target the cognitive biases that characterize the illness. Results suggest positive MCT effects encompassing several aspects of psychopathology and subjective well-being. There are still open questions concerning the effect on different cognitive biases and the interplay between them and both psychopathology and neurocognition. Specifically, the bias against disconfirmatory evidence (BADE) has never been tested in previous trials on MCT. In this study we evaluated the feasibility of MCT combined with a cognitive remediation therapy (CACR) in schizophrenia and its effect on BADE. Moreover, we investigated the relationships between BADE and both neuropsychology and psychopathology, taking into account mutual influences on the degree of improvement.MethodsFifty-seven schizophrenia outpatients were randomly assigned to CACR + control group or MCT+CACR and assessed at baseline and after treatment for psychopathology, neurocognition and BADE.ResultsAfter MCT+CACR patients showed significantly greater improvements on BADE. Although BADE baseline performances correlated with several cognitive domains, no association was found between BADE improvement and neurocognitive nor psychopathological measures.ConclusionsThis study enlightened for the first time the efficacy of MCT+CACR on BADE in schizophrenia, suggesting the importance to develop a more specific intervention tailored on individual needs of patients.