Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 31, 2025

Development of a Virtual Reality Assessment of Everyday Living Skills
Published on: April 23, 2014
Pharmacological interventions for social cognitive impairments in schizophrenia: A protocol for a systematic review
Yuji Yamada1, Ryo Okubo2, Hisateru Tachimori2,3
1Department of Psychiatry, National Center Hospital, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.
Background:
Social cognitive impairments adversely affect social functioning (e.g., employment status) in patients with schizophrenia. Although pharmacological interventions have been suggested to provide some benefits on social cognition, little information is available on the comparative efficacy of pharmacotherapy. Thus, the aim of this planned systematic review and network meta-analysis is to perform a quantitative comparison of the effects of various psychotropic drugs, including supplements, on social cognition disturbances of schizophrenia.
Methods:
The literature search will be carried out using the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, ClinicalTrials.gov, and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform databases from inception onward. Randomized controlled trials that examined the efficacy of drugs in social cognitive disturbances will be included, based on the most recent studies and the broader literature than previously searched. This protocol defines a priori the methods that will be used for study selection, data collection, quality assessment, and statistical syntheses.
Discussion:
The findings this work are expected to help promote the development of better therapeutics of social cognitive impairments in schizophrenia and related psychiatric conditions.
Systematic Review Registration:
[www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero], identifier [CRD42021293224].
Related Concept Videos
Psychosis: Goals of Pharmacotherapy
Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
Psychosis and Antipsychotic Drugs: Overview
Cognitive Enhancers: Cholinesterase Inhibitors and NMDA Receptor Antagonists
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia

