What is it about?
Executive functions are commonly impaired in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Physical exercise has the potential for improving executive functions and can be easily implemented as a therapeutic method. However, there are only few systematic reviews of exercise effects in schizophrenia including cognitive outcomes, and no metaanalytical syntheses of effects on “cool” and “hot” executive functions. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis will be to determine the effects of physical exercise on “cool” and “hot” executive functions of adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.
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Why is it important?
The results of this review may be useful for mental health professionals to design treatment plans for adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, offering potential benefits related to the quality of life and cognitive abilities of this population.
Perspectives
This innovative approach, not extensively explored in prior literature, has the potential to offer a more complete understanding of the mechanisms behind the effects of exercise in this population, thereby aiding in therapeutic planning. Furthermore, considering moderators related to intervention characteristics, context, and social aspects may shed light on result heterogeneity and provide more targeted recommendations for implementing exercise programs in real clinical settings.
Falonn Contreras
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Effects of physical exercise on executive functions of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis, PLoS ONE, January 2024, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296273.
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Resources
Effects of Physical Exercise on Executive Function in Adults with Depression
Physical exercise interventions may improve behavioral measures of working memory in adults with mild-to-moderate depression. This improvement can be observed when comparing physical exercise with passive (e.g., placebo pill) and active control conditions (e.g., cooperative group games). These conclusions result from the analysis of seven studies of moderate-to-high methodological quality, with a moderate impact of heterogeneity (I2). Future studies should provide further clarification on the effect of exercise interventions on cognitive inhibition and flexibility, thus contributing to increasing the existing body of evidence in order to offer effective therapeutic alternatives that allow for the improvement of the daily functioning of this population, especially when facing contexts requiring efficient information management.
Pharmacological treatment for challenging behavior in adults with intellectual disability
Few evidence on the use of antipsychotics in people with intellectual disabilities and challenging behaviors, generates the need to develop studies that contribute to collect, compare and synthesize the available information. The present systematic review and metaanalysis aims to determine the clinical efficacy of antipsychotic medication in reducing critical episodes in this population. Our work shows favorable evidence for the use of psychotropics for the acute handling of challenging behavior in patients with intellectual disability. In addition, some drugs showed greater evidence over others, among which risperidone is worth noting.
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