Abstract
Galvanic skin response (GSR) Biofeedback uses training to reduce tension and anxiety and improve concentration and self-regulation. The study was aimed to evaluate this method as a form of rehabilitation and quantify the outcomes achieved by patients undergoing training using this technique. Six schizophrenic patients were enrolled in the study and underwent training based on the relaxation training module (CENTER), concentration training module (BALANCE), and self-regulation training module (INSECTS). Training sessions were held twice a week for 6 weeks. From the total group of subjects involved in the study, two patients had a statistically significant increase in measured values after the CENTER exercise, indicating that relaxation was achieved. Four patients showed a statistically significant decrease in measured values after the BALANCE exercise, which was reflective of an improvement in concentration. Three patients had a statistically significant decrease in measured values after the INSECTS exercise, which indicated an improvement in self-regulation. GSR Biofeedback may be used to complement the pharmacological treatment of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Highlights
Schizophrenia is one of the most common causes of disability in young people [1]
For patient BF-2, no statistically significant changes in the CENTER measurements (Z = 1:020, p = 0:308) were observed during the exercise, but such changes did occur when the patient did the BALANCE exercise (Z = 2:589, p = 0:010), in which a decrease was visible in the measured values, indicating activation
The above data suggest that the patient did not achieve relaxation when training with the CENTER module but did achieve an improvement in concentration and self-regulation when doing the BALANCE and INSECTS exercises, respectively
Summary
Schizophrenia is one of the most common causes of disability in young people [1]. Clinical diagnosis of schizophrenia requires finding specific clinical symptoms, persisting for a specific time. Eight dimensions of schizophrenia have been distinguished in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5): hallucinations, delusions, speech disorganisation, abnormal psychomotor behaviour, negative symptoms, cognitive disorders, depression, and mania [2]. Cognitive deficits dominating in schizophrenia patients are associated mainly with disorganisation and negative symptoms. Because they are chronic, they negatively affect the patients’ overall social life [3,4,5]. Research shows that cognitive deficits are present regardless of the disease stage and mainly concern functional disorders in the frontal and temporal lobes [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13]
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