Skuteczność metody "neurofeedback" w leczeniu zaburzeń poznawczych u osób chorych na schizofrenię paranoidalną

Abstract

The neurofeedback therapy is presently a form of neuropsychological intervention which becomes more and more popular. A factor facilitating the method’s intensified development and its widespread usage is, obviously, the ubiquitous, accelerated computerization. The method is used in treatments of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, attention deficit disorder, addictions, migraines, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, in addition to aiding the rehabilitation process after undergone neurological diseases, injuries and traumas, but also as a kind of cognitive functions training method for the healthy. What is more, the neurofeedback therapy has already proved to be an efficient rehabilitation method in person with non-psychotic mental disorders. Persons with schizophrenia are also able to change their bioelectrical brain activity thanks to the said method. The foregoing conclusions match the author’s clinical experience. The presented book is a record of adaptation and research on the efficiency of the method in question in treating schizophrenia. The overall aim of the conducted research was to establish whether the neurofeedback therapy is an effective method of treating cognitive disorders in patients with paranoid schizophrenia. Chapter 1 is an introduction to the topic of the human cognitive functions. Chapter 2 focuses on paranoid schizophrenia as a nosological entity, its pathogenesis, and the course of the disorder, especially including cognitive process distortions. In Chapter 3, the principles of the neurofeedback therapy have been explained, along with its course and application, and the previous attempts to use this method in patients with paranoid schizophrenia. In chapters 4 and 5, the particular neurofeedback treatment protocol of the therapy was discussed, in additions to the aim and methodology of the research carried out. Chapter 6, in turn, presents the research findings, their analysis and interpretation.