Cognitive Exercise

In The Ravenous Brain, Daniel Bor talked about psychiatric drugs in terms of their cost.  Specifically, Bor says that the drugs are, “not ideal, both in terms of efficacy and side effects.”  It can be seen that psychiatric drugs do not have the most consistent or successful reputation.  Because of its historically limited success and potential risk towards patients with mental disorders, other methods such as cognitive training have been brought into testing.

First, Bor touches on two mental disorders; ADHD and schizophrenia, where cognitive training has been applied and results have been seen.  A study brought up in The Ravenous Brain and composed by Torkel Klingberg and other researchers, was one where children with ADHD were assigned to perform memory tasks for a period of time.  “They found the children experienced improvements not only in memory and IQ levels but also in ADHD symptoms.”  It is clear that such significant results that stem from cognitive training makes it a potential option of treatment that needs more information.

An article published in the American Journal of Psychiatry titled Cognitive Training in Mental Disorders: Update and Future Directions written by Matcheri S. Keshavan and others focuses on gathering information regarding the application of cognitive training and its effects on other mental disorders.  In the abstract the article states that most early cognitive training has been applied to schizophrenia.  However, “cognitive training has more recently been applied to a widening range of neuropsychiatric illnesses, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disorder, and substance use disorder.”  One of the most important topics touched upon in this article is that, because different mental disorders affect different functions throughout the brain, varying types of cognitive training need to be applied to each disorder.  For example, according to the article, patients with mood disorders such as bipolar disorder suffer from, “impairment in domains such as processing speed and executive functioning.”  On the other hand, substance use disorders, “are associated with a range of cognitive impairments, particularly in attention, working memory, response inhibition, and delay discounting.”  The article also talks about the different cognitive training tasks tested on each type of mental disorder covered.

In the end the articles manages to conclude that cognitive training appears to be a viable option in terms of treating mental disorders.  The articles states, “These developments are promising, especially given the limited efficacy of pharmacological interventions in improving cognitive and socio-affective processing.”  It can be seen that this article holds similar hopes to Daniel Bor for the implementation of a drug independent approach that can successfully combat mental disorders.

Bor, D. (2012). The Ravenous Brain: How the New Science of Consciousness Explains Out Insatiable Search for Meaning. New YorK: Basic Books.

http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=1859428#Trial Design Issues