Our research, broadly construed, is focused on improving cognitive (attention, memory, problem solving) and social cognitive (affect recognition, Theory-of-Mind) skills in people with schizophrenia. We attend to these skills as countless studies have emphasized their close relationship to a variety of aspects of outcome that are of considerable value to both treaters and people with the illness: the ability to successfully work, to live independently, and to maintain supportive relationships with family and friends. The major focus of our current work is to compare different approaches to cognitive remediation training: Computerized Remediation Treatment (CRT) and Compensatory Cognitive Training (CCT). CRT (drill-and-practice) that takes advantage of neuroplasticity as a means to strengthen underfunctioning neural and cognitive systems. CCT (drill-and-strategy) that focuses on the acquisition of behavioral strategies to help bypass (rather than directly modify) difficulties in cognition. We conduct this work in collaboration with our local mental health center partners, Intercommunity Health in East Hartford, CT., the Institute of Living in Hartford, CT, and (previously) River Valley Services in Middletown, CT. The lab also maintains a range of collaborations with faculty and students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the Yale Department of Psychiatry, and the University of California at San Diego.
To understand how these treatments are impactful, it is essential to understand the symptoms of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders (SSDs). SSDs are divided into two general sets of symptoms: positive and negative. Positive symptoms include behaviors that are added to someone’s lives (e.g., hallucinations, delusions, voices, etc). Negative symptoms include a deficit of a behavior trait (e.g., flat affect, anhedonia, emotional withdrawal, etc).
Antipsychotic medications (the main class of drugs given to individuals with SSDs) typically target the positive symptoms, and can cause negative symptoms to worsen. One goal in this lab is to target the negative symptoms of Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Participants in this lab are outpatient individuals who are typically taking antipsychotics.