[Effectiveness of a programme based on a virtual reality game for cognitive enhancement in schizophrenia].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a programme based on a virtual reality game to improve cognitive domains in patients with schizophrenia.

METHOD: A randomized controlled trial was conducted in 40 patients with schizophrenia, 20 in the experimental group and 20 in the control group. The experimental group received 10 sessions with Nintendo Wii(®) for 5 weeks, 50 minutes/session, 2 days/week in addition to conventional treatment. The control group received conventional treatment only.

RESULTS: Statistically significant differences in the T-Score were found in 5 of the 6 cognitive domains assessed: processing speed (F=12.04, p=0.001), attention/vigilance (F=12.75, p=0.001), working memory (F=18.86, p <0.01), verbal learning (F=7.6, p=0.009), visual learning (F=3.6, p=0.064), and reasoning and problem solving (F=11.08, p=0.002).

CONCLUSIONS: Participation in virtual reality interventions aimed at cognitive training have great potential for significant gains in different cognitive domains assessed in patients with schizophrenia.