***TASK*** the task is to summarize an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***INPUT*** the input is a biomedical literature 
    ***OUTPUT*** the output is the summary of an input biomedical literature in six sentences 
    ***DOCUMENTATION*** 
    ***EXAMPLES*** 
    Input: Background Cognitive remediation ( CR ) is an effective treatment for several psychiatric disorders . To date , there have been no published studies examining solely first-episode psychiatric cohorts , despite the merits demonstrated by early intervention CR studies . The current study aim ed to assess the effectiveness of CR in patients with a first-episode of either major depression or psychosis . Method Fifty-five patients ( mean age = 22.8 years , s.d . = 4.3 ) were r and omly assigned to either  CR  ( n = 28 ) or  treatment as usual ( TAU ; n = 27 ) . CR involved once-weekly 2-h sessions for a total of 10 weeks . Patients were comprehensively assessed before and after treatment . Thirty-six patients completed the study , and analyses were conducted using an intent-to-treat ( ITT ) approach with all available data . Results In comparison to TAU , CR was associated with improved immediate learning and memory controlling for diagnosis and baseline differences . Similarly , CR patients demonstrated greater improvements than TAU patients in psychosocial functioning irrespective of diagnosis . Delayed learning and memory improvements mediated the effect of treatment on psychosocial functioning at a marginal level . Conclusions CR  improves memory and psychosocial outcome in first-episode psychiatric out- patients for both depression and psychosis . Memory potentially mediated the functional gains observed . Future studies need to build on the current findings in larger sample s using blinded allocation and should incorporate longitudinal follow-up and assessment of potential moderators ( e.g. social cognition , self-efficacy ) to examine sustainability and the precise mechanisms of CR effects respectively Rationale Cognitive impairments are important determinants of functional outcome in psychosis , which are inadequately treated by antipsychotic medication . Modafinil is a wake-promoting drug that has been shown to improve attention , memory and executive function in the healthy population and in patients with schizophrenia . Objectives We aim ed to establish modafinil ’s role in the adjunctive treatment of cognitive impairments in the first episode of psychosis , a time when symptoms may be more malleable than at chronic stages of the disease . Methods Forty patients with a first episode of psychosis participated in a r and omised , double-blind , placebo-controlled crossover design study assessing the effects of a single dose of 200 mg modafinil on measures of executive functioning , memory , learning , impulsivity and attention . Results Modafinil improved verbal working memory ( d = 0.24 , p = 0.04 ) , spatial working memory errors ( d = 0.30 , p = 0.0004 ) and strategy use ( d = 0.23 , p = 0.03 ) . It also reduced discrimination errors in a task testing impulsivity . Modafinil showed no effect on impulsivity measures , sustained attention , attentional set-shifting , learning or fluency . Conclusions Modafinil selectively enhances working memory in first episode psychosis patients , which could have downstream effects on patients ’ social and occupational functioning First-episode schizophrenia ( FES ) spectrum disorders are associated with pronounced cognitive dysfunction across all domains . However , less is known about the course of cognitive functioning , following the first presentation of psychosis , and the relationship of cognition to clinical course during initial treatment . The present longitudinal study examined the magnitude of neurocognitive impairment , using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery , in patients experiencing their first episode of psychosis at baseline and after 12 weeks of r and omized antipsychotic treatment with either aripiprazole or risperidone .  At baseline , FES patients evidence d marked impairments in cognitive functioning . Notably , performance on the mazes task of planning and reasoning significantly predicted the likelihood of meeting stringent criteria for positive symptom remission during the first 12 weeks of the trial . Performance on indices of general cognitive function , working memory , and verbal learning improved over time , but these improvements were mediated by improvements in both positive and negative symptoms . We did not detect any differential effects of antipsychotic medication assignment ( aripiprazole vs risperidone ) on cognitive functioning . Our results suggest that a brief paper- and -pencil measure reflecting planning/reasoning abilities may index responsivity to antipsychotic medication . However , improvements in cognitive functioning over time were related to clinical symptom improvement , reflecting " pseudospecificity . BACKGROUND Disturbed functional connectivity is assumed to underlie neurocognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia . As neurocognitive deficits are already present in the high-risk state , identification of the neural networks involved in this core feature of schizophrenia is essential to our underst and ing of the disorder . Resting-state studies enable such investigations , while at the same time avoiding the known confounder of impaired task performance in patients . The aim of the present study was to investigate EEG resting-state connectivity in high-risk individuals ( HR ) compared to first episode patients with schizophrenia ( SZ ) and to healthy controls ( HC ) , and its association with cognitive deficits . METHODS 64-channel resting-state EEG recordings ( eyes closed ) were obtained for 28 HR , 19 stable SZ , and 23 HC , matched for age , education , and parental education . The imaginary coherence-based multivariate interaction measure ( MIM ) was used as a measure of connectivity across 80 cortical regions and six frequency b and s. Mean connectivity at each region was compared across groups using the non-parametric r and omization approach . Additionally , the network-based statistic was applied to identify affected networks in patients . RESULTS SZ displayed increased theta-b and resting-state MIM connectivity across midline , sensorimotor , orbitofrontal regions and the left temporoparietal junction . HR displayed intermediate theta-b and connectivity patterns that did not differ from either SZ or HC . Mean theta-b and connectivity within the above network partially mediated verbal memory deficits in SZ and HR . CONCLUSIONS Aberrant theta-b and connectivity may represent a trait characteristic of schizophrenia associated with neurocognitive deficits . As such , it might constitute a promising target for novel treatment applications OBJECTIVE Cognitive deficits that characterize schizophrenia are present in the prodrome , worsen with illness onset , and predict functional outcome . Cognitive dysfunction is thus a critical target for early intervention in young individuals with recent onset schizophrenia . METHOD This 2-site double-blind r and omized controlled trial investigated cognitive training of auditory processing/verbal learning in 86 subjects with recent onset schizophrenia ( mean age of 21 years ) . Subjects were given laptop computers to take home and were asked to perform 40 hours of training or 40 hours of commercial computer games over 8 weeks . We examined cognitive measures recommended by the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia initiative ( MATRICS ) , symptoms , and functioning . We also assessed baseline reward anticipation to index motivational system functioning and measured changes in auditory processing speed after 20 hours of training to assess target engagement . RESULTS Auditory training subjects demonstrated significant improvements in global cognition , verbal memory , and problem solving compared with those of computer games control subjects . Both groups showed a slight but significant decrease in symptoms and no change in functional outcome measures . Training-induced cognitive gains at posttraining showed significant associations with reward anticipation at baseline and with improvement in auditory processing speed at 20 hours . CONCLUSION Neuroscience-informed cognitive training via laptop computer represents a promising treatment approach for cognitive dysfunction in early schizophrenia . An individual 's baseline motivational system functioning ( reward anticipation ) , and ability to engage in auditory processing speed improvement , may represent important predictors of treatment outcome . Future studies must investigate whether cognitive training improves functioning and how best to integrate it into critical psychosocial interventions AIM To examine whether baseline neurocognition predicts vocational outcomes over 18 months in patients with first-episode psychosis enrolled in a r and omized controlled trial of Individual Placement and Support or treatment as usual . METHODS One-hundred and thirty-four first-episode psychosis participants completed an extensive neurocognitive battery .  Principal axis factor analysis using PROMAX rotation was used to determine the underlying structure of the battery . Setwise ( hierarchical ) multiple linear and logistic regressions were used to examine predictors of ( 1 ) total hours employed over 18 months and ( 2 ) employment status , respectively . Neurocognition factors were entered in the models after accounting for age , gender , premorbid IQ , negative symptoms , treatment group allocation and employment status at baseline . RESULTS Five neurocognitive factors were extracted : ( 1 ) processing speed , ( 2 ) verbal learning and memory , ( 3 ) knowledge and reasoning , ( 4 ) attention and working memory and ( 5 ) visual organization and memory . Employment status over 18 months was not significantly predicted by any of the predictors in the final model . Total hours employed over 18 months were significantly predicted by gender ( P = .027 ) , negative symptoms ( P = .032 ) and verbal learning and memory ( P = .040 ) . Every step of the regression model was a significant predictor of total hours worked overall ( final model : P = .013 ) . CONCLUSION Verbal learning and memory , negative symptoms and gender were implicated in duration of employment in first-episode psychosis . The other neurocognitive domains did not significantly contribute to the prediction of vocational outcomes over 18 months . Interventions targeting verbal memory may improve vocational outcomes in early psychosis Background Verbal learning and memory are impaired not only in patients with a first episode of psychosis ( FEP ) but also – to a lower extent – in those with an at-risk mental state for psychosis ( ARMS ) . However , little is known about the specific nature of these impairments . Hence , we aim ed to study learning and memory processes in ARMS and FEP patients by making use of structural equation modelling . Methods  Verbal learning was assessed with the California Verbal Learning Test ( CVLT )  in 98 FEP patients , 126 ARMS patients and 68 healthy controls ( HC ) as part of the Basel early detection of psychosis ( FePsy ) study . The four-factorial CFA model of Donders was used to estimate test performance on latent variables of the CVLT and growth curve analysis was used to model the learning curve . The latter allows disentangling initial recall , which is strongly determined by attentional processes , from the learning rate . Results The CFA model revealed that ARMS and FEP patients were impaired in Attention Span , Learning Efficiency and Delayed Memory and that FEP patients were additionally impaired in Inaccurate Memory . Additionally , ARMS-NT , but not ARMS-T , performed significantly worse than HC on Learning Efficiency . The growth curve model indicated that FEP patients were impaired in both initial recall and learning rate and that ARMS patients were only impaired in the learning rate . Conclusions Since impairments were more pronounced in the learning rate than the initial recall , our results suggest that the lower scores in the CVLT reported in previous studies are more strongly driven by impairments in the rate of learning than by attentional processes Cognitive deficits have an important role in the neurodevelopment of schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders . However , there is a continuing debate as to whether cognitive impairments in the psychosis prodrome are stable predictors of eventual psychosis or undergo a decline due to the onset of psychosis . In the present study , to determine how cognition changes as illness emerges , we examined baseline neurocognitive performance in a large sample of helping-seeking youth ranging in clinical state from low-risk for psychosis through individuals at clinical high-risk ( CHR ) for illness to early first-episode patients ( EFEP ) . At baseline , the MATRICS Cognitive Consensus battery was administered to 322 individuals ( 205 CHRs , 28 EFEPs , and 89 help-seeking controls , HSC ) that were part of the larger Early Detection , Intervention and Prevention of Psychosis Program study . CHR individuals were further divided into those who did ( CHR-T ; n = 12 , 6.8 % ) and did not ( CHR-NT , n = 163 ) convert to psychosis over follow-up ( Mean = 99.20 weeks , SD = 21.54 ) . ANCOVAs revealed that there were significant overall group differences ( CHR , EFEP , HSC ) in processing speed , verbal learning , and overall neurocognition , relative to healthy controls ( CNTL ) . In addition , the CHR-NTs performed similarly to the HSC group , with mild to moderate cognitive deficits relative to the CTRL group . The CHR-Ts mirrored the EFEP group , with large deficits in processing speed , working memory , attention/vigilance , and verbal learning ( > 1 SD below CNTLs ) . Interestingly , only verbal learning impairments predicted transition to psychosis , when adjusting for age , education , symptoms , antipsychotic medication , and neurocognitive performance in the other domains . Our findings suggest that large neurocognitive deficits are present prior to illness onset and represent vulnerability markers for psychosis . The results of this study further reinforce that verbal learning should be specifically targeted for preventive intervention for psychosis INTRODUCTION There is substantial evidence for Theory of Mind ( ToM ) deficits in patients with schizophrenia . Many psychotic symptoms may best be understood in light of an impaired capacity to infer one 's own and other persons ' mental states and to relate those to executing behavior . The aim of our study was to investigate ToM abilities in first-episode schizophrenia patients and to analyze them in relation to neuropsychological and psychopathological functioning . MATERIAL S AND METHODS A modified Moving Shapes paradigm was used to assess ToM abilities in 23 first-episode patients with schizophrenia and 23 matched healthy controls . Participants had to describe animated triangles which moved ( 1 ) r and omly , (  
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Discussion While many scales are commonly used to measure verbal memory in first episode psychosis , they are not often administered via digital technology .