Aim: Cognitive impairment is a core feature of schizophrenia and is typically assessed using paper-and-pencil neuropsychological batteries. However, these traditional methods are time-consuming and place a substantial burden on examiners before, during, and after administration. To address this issue, we developed CAT-Hokkaido, a brief tablet-based cognitive assessment tool designed to assess multiple neurocognitive domains while reducing examiner burden. Methods: We assessed its validity in a sample of 50 individuals with schizophrenia and 50 healthy controls, using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) as a reference standard. Group differences in CAT-Hokkaido and MCCB scores were analyzed. Results: CAT-Hokkaido identified significant performance deficits in four out of six tasks among patients with schizophrenia. These four tests evaluated processing speed, executive function, sustained attention, and verbal learning. Additionally, all tasks demonstrated significant correlations with their corresponding MCCB measures, supporting the tool's convergent validity. Conclusion: These findings suggest that CAT-Hokkaido may serve as a surrogate tool for assessing cognitive impairment in schizophrenia.
Toyomaki et al. (Wed,) studied this question.