Neuro Cognitive Rehabilitation For Disease of Addiction (Necoreda) Program: From Development To Trial

Despite extensive evidence for cognitive deficits associated with drug use and multiplepublications supporting the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation treatment (crt) services for drugaddictions, there are a few well-structured tools and organized programs to improve cognitiveabilities in substance users. most published studies on cognitive rehabilitation for drug dependentpatients used rehabilitation tools, which have been previously designed for other types of braininjuries such as schizophrenia or traumatic brain injuries and not specifically designed for drugdependent patients. these studies also suffer from small sample size, lack of follow-up periodassessments and or comprehensive treatment outcome measures. to address these limitations,we decided to develop and investigate the efficacy of a paper and pencil cognitive rehabilitationpackage called necoreda (neurocognitive rehabilitation for disease of addiction) to improveneurocognitive deficits associated with drug dependence particularly caused by stimulants (e.g.amphetamine type stimulants and cocaine) and opiates. to evaluate the feasibility of necoredaprogram, we conducted a pilot study with 10 opiate and methamphetamine dependent patientsfor 3 months in outpatient setting. necoreda was revised based on qualitative commentsreceived from clients and treatment providers. final version of necoreda is composed of braintraining exercises called “brain gym” and psychoeducational modules called “brain treasures”which is implemented in 16 training sessions interleaved with 16 review and practice sessions.necoreda will be evaluated as an add-on intervention to methadone maintenance treatmentin a randomized clinical trial among opiate dependent patients starting from august 2015. wediscuss methodological features of necoreda development and evaluation in this article.