Ecological and momentary assessment and intervention for schizophrenia: Use of smartphone apps and video games

Digital technology has been developed to help manage psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Such technology is well suited to monitoring the disease in ecological situations, including the evolution and behavioral outcomes of negative symptoms and cognitive impairments that are often context-dependent, and would also allow timely assessments and interventions. Along the trajectory of schizophrenia disease course, several time windows for the potential applications are present. Approaches, including the monitoring of naturalistic behaviors by smartphone apps for momentary assessment of negative symptoms and cognitive impairments, and cognitive assessment and intervention through various remote platforms such as video games, are reviewed. Hurdles and opportunities including important considerations when applying digital technology to the prevention, evaluation, and intervention of schizophrenia are discussed.