Impact of Psychosocial Occupational Therapy Combined with Anodal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex on the Cognitive Performance of Patients with Schizophrenia: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Elahe Fathi Azar, Samaneh Hosseinzadeh, Masoud Nosrat Abadi and 2 others
PMID 34987350WHAT IT FOUND
Adding brain stimulation to occupational therapy improved visual memory and attention in men with schizophrenia, but did not change visuomotor organization or thinking operations.
The benefit was limited to basic cognitive skills, not functional or higher-level abilities.
Key findings
01Spatial recognition memory improved significantly more in the group receiving active brain stimulation plus occupational therapy than in the control group.
02Paired-associate learning scores improved significantly in the experimental group, indicating better visual learning ability.
03No significant differences were found between groups in visuomotor organization or thinking operations scores after the intervention.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study included only male participants, so results may not apply to women. The sample size was small (24 participants), which limits the generalizability of the findings. There was no follow-up assessment to determine if the cognitive improvements were sustained over time. The authors noted that the intervention did not improve functional or high-level cognitive abilities, suggesting the short duration may be insufficient for broader rehabilitation goals.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was funded by the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that adding brain stimulation to occupational therapy will improve all cognitive domains. The study found no significant benefit for visuomotor organization or thinking operations, indicating that the effect is limited to specific visual memory and learning tasks.