Department of Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Social Welfare & Health Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa, 31905, Israel.
Schizophr Res. 2009 Dec;115(2-3):270-7. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2009.09.015. Epub 2009 Oct 22.
Persons with Schizophrenia experience difficulties with Executive Functioning (EF) that affect independence and participation in activities. Specifically, EF impacts performance in Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) that require flexible thinking and accommodation to complex environments. However, less is known how schizophrenia affects EF and individuals' performance in activities. IADL performance can be tested using a virtual reality (VR) environment that simulates real life activities. The purpose of this study was: 1) to examine the feasibility and validity of the Virtual Action Planning-Supermarket (VAP-S) to assess EF in persons with schizophrenia as compared to a standardized EF measure (the Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome, BADS); 2) to compare performance of persons with schizophrenia and healthy controls in the VAP-S; 3) to assess the ability of the VAP-S to differentiate between different levels of EF within schizophrenia; 4) to explore the relationships between negative and positive symptoms and performance on the tests. Thirty persons with schizophrenia were matched with 30 healthy controls. Significant differences in performance between research and control groups were detected on the VAP-S and BADS, with the research group performing worse. Large variations in number of purchases within the VAP-S by the research group point to level of task completion thus secondary analysis was conducted. There was a significant negative correlation between level of the negative signs and overall performance on the BADS and on most measures of the VAP-S. Results of this study support the use the VAP-S to assess EF among persons with Schizophrenia.
精神分裂症患者的执行功能（EF）存在困难，这会影响他们的独立性和参与活动的能力。具体来说，EF 会影响到需要灵活思维和适应复杂环境的工具性日常生活活动（IADL）的表现。然而，对于精神分裂症如何影响 EF 和个体在活动中的表现，我们知之甚少。IADL 表现可以通过模拟真实生活活动的虚拟现实（VR）环境进行测试。本研究的目的是：1） 比较虚拟动作规划-超市（VAP-S）与标准化 EF 测试（行为执行功能测试，BADS）评估精神分裂症患者 EF 的可行性和有效性；2） 比较精神分裂症患者和健康对照组在 VAP-S 中的表现；3） 评估 VAP-S 在区分精神分裂症患者不同 EF 水平方面的能力；4） 探讨阴性和阳性症状与测试表现之间的关系。30 名精神分裂症患者与 30 名健康对照组相匹配。在 VAP-S 和 BADS 上，研究组与对照组的表现存在显著差异，研究组的表现更差。研究组在 VAP-S 中的购买数量存在较大差异，这表明任务完成程度存在差异，因此进行了二次分析。BADS 和 VAP-S 的大多数测量指标上，阴性症状的严重程度与总体表现呈显著负相关。本研究的结果支持使用 VAP-S 评估精神分裂症患者的 EF。
