Computerized social cognitive training in the subacute phase after traumatic brain injury: A quasi-randomized controlled trial

Pilot study on the effectiveness of the socialmind program for the rehabilitation of social cognition following acquired brain injury

Background

People with acquired brain injury (ABI) often have Social Cognition (SC) deficits. Impairment of SC causes the individual to have difficulties in daily functioning and can lead to social isolation. Research aimed at rehabilitation of SC in individuals with ABI is scarce and almost always addresses only one component of this ability.

Objective

This pilot study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the new "SocialMind" program in improving all core components of SC in people with ABI.

Method

The study included 31 participants with ABI, divided into experimental and control groups. The study spanned 44 weeks, involving an initial meeting, evaluation, training, and final assessment phases. The SocialMind program, structured into four modules, each with a duration of 30 h, targeted each SC component through tailored exercises. The program addressed emotion recognition, social awareness, ToM, and empathy.

Results

The SocialMind group demonstrated significant improvements in emotion recognition (p = 0.017), social knowledge (p < 0.001), and empathy (p = 0.001) compared to the control group. ToM also showed a notable improvement that approached significance (p = 0.057).

Conclusion

This pilot study suggests that the SocialMind program effectively enhances three of the four core components of SC in individuals with ABI.

INCOG 2.0 Guidelines for Cognitive Rehabilitation Following Traumatic Brain Injury, Part IV: Cognitive-Communication and Social Cognition Disorders

INTRODUCTION

Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury causes significant cognitive impairments, including impairments in social cognition, the ability to recognize others' emotions, and infer others' thoughts. These cognitive impairments can have profound negative effects on communication functions, resulting in a cognitive-communication disorder. Cognitive-communication disorders can significantly limit a person's ability to socialize, work, and study, and thus are critical targets for intervention. This article presents the updated INCOG 2.0 recommendations for management of cognitive-communication disorders. As social cognition is central to cognitive-communication disorders, this update includes interventions for social cognition.

METHODS

An expert panel of clinicians/researchers reviewed evidence published since 2014 and developed updated recommendations for interventions for cognitive-communication and social cognition disorders, a decision-making algorithm tool, and an audit tool for review of clinical practice.

RESULTS

Since INCOG 2014, there has been significant growth in cognitive-communication interventions and emergence of social cognition rehabilitation research. INCOG 2.0 has 9 recommendations, including 5 updated INCOG 2014 recommendations, and 4 new recommendations addressing cultural competence training, group interventions, telerehabilitation, and management of social cognition disorders. Cognitive-communication disorders should be individualized, goal- and outcome-oriented, and appropriate to the context in which the person lives and incorporate social communication and communication partner training. Group therapy and telerehabilitation are recommended to improve social communication. Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) should be offered to the person with severe communication disability and their communication partners should also be trained to interact using AAC. Social cognition should be assessed and treated, with a focus on personally relevant contexts and outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

The INCOG 2.0 recommendations reflect new evidence for treatment of cognitive-communication disorders, particularly social interactions, communication partner training, group treatments to improve social communication, and telehealth delivery. Evidence is emerging for the rehabilitation of social cognition; however, the impact on participation outcomes needs further research.