Cognitive Remediation Techniques

Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) aids in the rehabilitation process of those suffering from traumatic brain injury or cognitive deficits. For example, CRT is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia. The therapy focuses on improving the patient's skills in areas like attentiveness, memorization, learning and planning. In most cases, CRT involves computer-oriented tasks; however, some tasks may also be written or verbal.

Verbal Fluency Tests

• During verbal fluency tests, the administrator offers a category and the participant must list as many associated items as possible. For example, the category could be "bugs," "colors" or "farm animals." This exercise aids in the analysis of semantic memory, which may be disorganized due to cognitive illness or brain injury.

  A phonetic version of the test, in which participants must list words that fall under a certain category, is also available.

Stroop Test

• The Stroop Test is a task based on cognitive reaction time. The activity involves identifying a color while the color appears on text that suggests a different color. For example, the word "red" may appear in blue text, and the word "green" may appear in purple text.

  The activity increases cognitive flexibility, selective attention, and the processing speed of the brain.

Memory Span Tests

• Memory span tests require the participant to recall certain items that the administrator presents. For example, in sentence span tests, the administrator reads a group of sentences the participant, who must then recall the first or last word of each sentence. Digit span tests require the participant to recall as many numbers as possible from a list of given digits. Visual span tests involve the reproduction of images or figures on a grid.

  This activity strengthens short-term memory.

Sentence Completion Test

• The Hayling Sentence Completion Test begins with the administrator reading a set of incomplete sentences. The participant has to complete the sentences by offering a sensible final word for each. The second half of the test requires the participant to end each sentence with a nonsensical word while suppressing the urge to answer sensibly. Typically, the entire test is verbal.

  The Hayling Sentence Completion Test improves the brain's executive functions, which control the cognitive processes.