NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL REHABILITATION FOR ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Neuropsychological rehabilitation: Neuropsychological rehabilitation includes an integrated approach, consisting of three components: cognitive training; psychoeducation; and social skills/emotional management training. Cognitive training uses a combination of different tasks (always covering attention, memory and executive functions exercises), with a 30-minute session on the online cognitive training platform and 1 hour of pencil and paper exercises in a group, in a total of 36 sessions . Psychoeducation addresses specific topics related to Alcohol Use Disorder and its cognitive impact. Social skills/emotional management training includes problem-solving exercises, assertiveness training, emotion identification and management, among others. These sessions will be held once a week, for a total of 12 sessions.

Weekly therapeutic groups: The control group will attend weekly therapeutic groups, which consist of open groups, aimed to promote abstinence and relapse prevention, supporting the management of difficulties in the person's daily life related to consumption, promoting psychoeducation about the disease and coping strategies to deal with craving

Study summary

This investigation will take place between September 2024 and June 2025, with the objective of analyzing executive deficits and the impact of Neuropsychological Rehabilitation on Alcohol Use Disorder, comparing different evaluation moments. Data will be collected at UTRA and Clinica 4, at ULSSJOSÉ, from a total of 48 participants at the end of three months, using a semi-structured interview, in order to obtain sociodemographic data and information related to alcohol consumption, as well as the application of a set of clinical and neuropsychological tests. This first assessment will be carried out after medically assisted detoxification (from the 10th day of abstinence), and subsequently the participants will be randomly distributed into two groups, a control group that will carry out the therapeutic groups (usual treatment) and a group experimental group that, in addition to these groups, will attend the Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Program. All participants will be assessed again, one, three and six months after the first assessment. This research will have the benefit of structuring interventions that are more tailored to the needs of people with AUD, seeking to minimize the impact of cognitive deficits on their physical and mental health. Participation in the study will be voluntary, and the risks for participants will be non-existent. No payment will be made to participants for their collaboration in the study. The confidentiality and anonymity of participants will be guaranteed, as well as the security of personal and clinical data, safeguarding the rights and freedoms of the data holder. The data collected will be used only for this purpose, with access to them being exclusive to the researcher, who has sole responsibility for processing and publishing the data, always seeking to preserve the identity of the participants. The data will only be kept for the time necessary to carry out the purpose of the investigation.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Frontal Assessment Battery - FAB (total score) (Lima, Meireles, Fonseca, Castro, Garrett; 2008). — Baseline, one, three and six months
  * assessment general executive functioning * divided into six subscales: abstract thinking (test of similarities); mental flexibility (phonemic fluency); motor programming (Luria motor series - fist-edge-palm patterns); sensitivity to interference (antagonistic instructions); inhibitory control (go-no-go) and environment independence (suppression of grasping behavior); * minimum score: 0; maximum score: 18; * a higher score indicates better cognitive function; * cutoff point: ≥14 (without prejudice to function).

Trial sites (1)

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