Cognitive Training to Improve Emotion Regulation in Adults with Schizophrenia or Schizoaffective Disorder

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating a cognitive training program designed to improve emotion regulation in people with psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. These disorders cause serious challenges, and difficulties controlling emotions contribute to ongoing symptoms and poor functioning. The study aims to see if training that targets brain activity in the prefrontal cortex can improve emotion regulation, addressing a critical unmet need in treatment. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups one will receive emotional working memory training that gradually becomes more challenging and is delivered through a smartphone app, while the other group will receive a placebo version of the training without emotional content. The training lasts for 30 days, and researchers will compare brain activation and emotion regulation improvements after 15 and 30 days to find the most effective treatment duration. During the study, participants will complete training sessions on a smartphone app and undergo assessments measuring prefrontal brain activity related to emotion regulation. The main outcome is the change in blood oxygen level dependent activation in the prefrontal cortex from baseline to either 15 or 30 days. Participant stability and clinical status will be monitored, and the study duration includes the full 30-day training and evaluation period.

Cognitive Training for Emotion Regulation in Psychotic Disorders