Multiphase cognition rehabilitation effective for people with dual diagnosis

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a multicomponent cognitive rehabilitation program, previously shown to be
effective for patients with chronic alcoholism and shown here to be effective for patients with a dual diagnosis of
alcoholism and another neuropsychiatric disorder.


Forty veterans diagnosed with alcoholism and another neuropsychiatric disorder were administered a battery of
neuropsychological tests and then randomly assigned to either a cognitive rehabilitation or attention placebo group. Patients
in the cognitive rehabilitation group demonstrated greater improvement than the attention placebo group on attention,
conceptual flexibility, and information processing speed.


This study shows that cognitive rehabilitation can improve attention and short-term memory for people with a dual diagnosis.



Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development Tipsheet

The current issue of the Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development (JRRD) includes four articles on measurement,
treatment, and causes of low back pain and five articles on prosthetic research, including the affect of practitioner
knowledge and technique on prosthetic fit; rapid, low cost prosthetic production; and increase of skin temperature after a
prosthetic limb is donned.


Contact: Judith LaVoie

judithvard

410-962-1800 x 229

VA Research Communications Service

vard