CANTAB has been used successfully to highlight the range of visuo-spatial cognitive deficits in schizophrenia, producing similar results to those obtained with some traditional neuropsychological tests. Further studies validating the use of CANTAB following the standard set by Measurement And Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) are warranted.

Difficulties in everyday life activities are core features of persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and in particular during multitasking activities. However, at present, patients׳ multitasking capacities have not been adequately examined in the literature due to the absence of suitable assessment strategies. We thus recently developed a computerized real-life activity task designed to take into account the complex and multitasking nature of certain everyday life activities where participants are required to prepare a room for a meeting. Twenty-one individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and 20 matched healthy controls completed the computerized task. Patients were also evaluated with a cognitive battery, measures of symptomatology and real world functioning. To examine the ecological validity, 14 other patients were recruited and were given the computerized version and a real version of the meeting preparation task. Results showed that performance on the computerized task was significantly correlated with executive functioning, pointing to the major implication of these cognitive processes in multitasking situations. Performance on the computerized task also significantly predicted up to 50% of real world functioning. Moreover, the computerized task demonstrated good ecological validity. These findings suggest the importance of evaluating multitasking capacities in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in order to predict real world functioning.

The aim was to assess the efficacy of a modified version of Goal Management Training (GMT) in a person with schizophrenia who had difficulties in attaining the final goal for new and multitasking daily-life situations. GMT is designed to improve abilities in establishing goal-directed plans and carrying them out effectively. Beneficial effects of GMT were measured for several clinical questionnaires, laboratory tasks, and three real-life situations: meal preparation (trained, familiar); washing (nontrained, familiar); meeting preparation (nontrained, unfamiliar). The results revealed improvement in planning and on trained laboratory and meal preparation tasks and a generalization of GMT effects on nontrained laboratory and everyday tasks. Self-esteem also improved. Finally, a two-year followup indicated the durability of the beneficial effects.