Investigating the Effects of Cognitive Rehabilitation on Executive Functions and Social Cognition of Adolescents with Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a chronic and prevalent neurological disease, which is caused by the excessively and simultaneously abnormal electrical discharge of the brain. Studies have suggested that this disease could lead to a wide range of neurological and psychological disorders in people and leave adverse impacts on their lives. For this, the present research aims to investigate the effects of cognitive rehabilitation on executive functioning and social cognitions of adolescents with epilepsy. The present quasi-experimental study was performed on 9 adolescents with epilepsy. The subjects received 12 treatment sessions involving cognitive rehabilitation of executive functions and social cognition through attentive rehabilitation of attention and memory, and emotion recognition and mind reading-based cognitive rehabilitation. Data related to the components of executive functions were collected through Stroop’s neuropsychological tests, Wisconsin Test, Continuous Performance Test, and N-Beck Test, while data related to components of social cognition were collected through emotion recognition and mind reading test in five stages of pretest, posttest, and one-week, one-month and three-month follow-up stages, as the data were analyzed using descriptive statistical (mean and SD) and inferential (repeated measures ANOVA) tests. Results indicated that in the post-test stage, the scores about the components of social cognition and executive functions, excluding those of selective attention and sustained attention, were significantly higher than components of the pretest stage, with the score differences being significant (0.05 and 0.1). One-week, one-month, and three-month follow-ups also revealed that the improvement achieved in the posttest was sustainable. A cognitive rehabilitation program is a novel approach to removing the neurological problems of people with epilepsy. Thus, the findings of this research suggested that health experts can use this intervention, along with other interventions, to improve the lives and social relations of these people.