Key issues in mental health

Series Editors: Riecher-Rössler A (Basel), Steiner M (Hamilton, Ontario). ISSN: 1662-4874

Vol. 177: Neurocognition and social cognition in schizophrenia patients: basic concepts and treatment

Edited by Roder V (Bern), Medalia A (New York, NY). Basel: S. Karger AG, 2010: 178. Hardcover, € 48 (US $67). ISBN: 978-3-8055-9338-0

This book inhabits an important niche within the schizophrenia research field, particularly as neurocognitive and social cognition deficits are increasingly emerging as integral aspects of this illness. This growing understanding has fostered treatment approaches that aim to facilitate cognitive functional outcomes for patients, and as such have gained importance. This book highlights the significance of recognising the difficulties experienced by individuals with schizophrenia beyond the illness itself, and the need for treatment beyond mere symptomatic relief. Through the inclusion of leading experts in the realm of schizophrenia research, this volume presents a lucid narrative that captures the important aspects of emerging treatments in schizophrenia.

The reader is first presented with an overview of the social and neurocognitive processes known to be deficient in schizophrenia and how these are defined and assessed in schizophrenia patients. Chapter 2 provides succinct consideration of the importance of treatment options that move beyond focusing only on improving social competence, in addition to incorporating the treatment of cognitive deficits that are common to schizophrenia.

The ensuing chapters review various behavioural and social cognitive approaches to treating cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia. For instance, Kurtz and Sartory introduce an overview of the treatments aimed at improving neurocognition, with a particular focus on the attention, problem-solving and memory domains in schizophrenia patients. Wölwer, Combs, Frommann and Penn then provide a relevant summary using empirical evidence on targeted and broad-based treatment approaches that focus on social cognition in schizophrenia. Of interest, the authors successfully impart their knowledge of treatments have been designed to target emotion perception, social perception, attributional style and theory of mind deficits.

Following on from this, the book then deals with the integration of social and neurocognitive treatments with the two subsequent sections providing overviews of the neuropsychological and educational approaches to remediation (Medalia and Mambrino) and integrated psychological therapy (IPT) and integrated neurocognitive therapy (INT) (Müller and Roder). It is particularly useful to see concrete examples and guidelines for these treatments, breaking the approach into modules. The IPT and INT therapies discussed in this book contain detailed examples of what the various treatment steps target and how these treatments can be applied to schizophrenia patients.

The important role of pharmacological treatments for schizophrenia is also considered in this book in Chapter 6 by Hofer and Fleischhacker and deals specifically with the identification of new molecular targets aimed at facilitating better functional outcomes for patients.

Finally, theories of motivation in facilitating cognitive and functional benefits from treatment are considered in Chapter 7. This is an essential inclusion, particularly because amotivation is a core aspect of schizophrenia illness. Therefore, the authors have been sympathetic in understanding the role of motivation in learning neuropsychological skills, and that enhancing intrinsic motivation can facilitate effective outcomes in cognitive remediation programs.

This book has an important place in the developing field of social and cognitive neuroscience of schizophrenia and its treatment. It examines the person beyond the façade of the phenotype and integrates social- and neurocognitive functioning as optimal treatment outcomes for these patients. The book combines theoretical background, measurement strategies and treatment approaches, all of which are well presented and reviewed thoroughly. This structure is particularly useful for the reader requiring a general introduction to neuro- and social cognition in schizophrenia and how this can be assessed and treated.

A particular strength of this book is the inclusion of evidence-based interventions and their adaptation as treatment options for social and neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia.

In sum, this book successfully introduces the reader to basic concepts and the treatment of neuro- and social cognition in schizophrenia patients. It would be a useful tool for students, researchers and clinicians alike although in hardback its cost may be a limiting factor for those in training. I can heartily recommend this book both as a reference and an introduction to clinical practice.