{"id":70907,"date":"2025-10-27T18:29:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T16:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/?p=70907"},"modified":"2025-10-27T18:29:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T16:29:09","slug":"improving-self-awareness-in-chronic-moderatesevere","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/improving-self-awareness-in-chronic-moderatesevere\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving Self-Awareness in Chronic Moderate\u2013Severe Acquired Brain Injury: The Social Cognitive Communication Intervention Combined With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Abstract:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Purpose:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an integrated rehabilitation intervention combining the social cognitive-communication (SocCom) training with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for individuals with chronic moderate\u2013severe acquired brain injury (MS-ABI), focusing on enhancing self-awareness and executive functions in an outpatient setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Method:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Twenty-five individuals with MS-ABI (<em>M<\/em><sub>age<\/sub>&nbsp;= 39.64,&nbsp;<em>SD<\/em>&nbsp;= 14.78;&nbsp;<em>Mdn<\/em><sub>timesinceinjury<\/sub>&nbsp;= 6.00 years). Participants were randomly assigned to either the combined intervention (<em>n<\/em>&nbsp;= 12) or the SocCom group (<em>n<\/em>&nbsp;= 13). The intervention was delivered over an 11-week period. A comprehensive neuropsychological and psychosocial assessment, along with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), were conducted pre and post intervention implementation to assess its impact on self-awareness, executive functions, and quality of life. Nonparametric tests were conducted to examine within- and between-group differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Results:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Participants of both groups showed significant within-group improvements (<em>p<\/em>&nbsp;&lt; .05) in memory, executive functions, semantic knowledge, and quality of life, demonstrating the interventions&#8217; broad impact. Furthermore, neurophysiological changes measured via the fNIRS indicated significant brain function alterations (<em>p<\/em>&nbsp;&lt; .05) in the combined intervention group, suggesting a synergistic effect of SocCom and tDCS. Between-groups comparisons revealed superior improvements in the combined intervention group in tasks requiring visual memory, executive function, and processing speed, underscoring the added value of tDCS in cognitive rehabilitation outcomes for individuals with chronic MS-ABI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Conclusion:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The integrated SocCom and tDCS intervention offers a promising strategy for enhancing cognitive and psychosocial outcomes in individuals with chronic MS-ABI, suggesting a valuable addition to existing rehabilitation efforts and supporting a more personalized, holistic approach to recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p style=\"font-size:15px\"><em><strong>Pettemeridou, E.<\/strong>, Lofitou, K., Solomou, I., Charalambous, M., Ioannou, M., Lori, A., Papacostas, S.S., Pantzaris, M., &amp; Constantinidou, F. (2025). Improving Self-Awareness in Chronic Moderate\u2013Severe Acquired Brain Injury: The Social Cognitive Communication Intervention Combined With Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation.American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology,\u00a0p. 1-16. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-buttons uagb-buttons__outer-wrap uagb-btn__default-btn uagb-btn-tablet__default-btn uagb-btn-mobile__default-btn uagb-block-cd618e2e\"><div class=\"uagb-buttons__wrap uagb-buttons-layout-wrap \">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-buttons-child uagb-buttons__outer-wrap uagb-block-45befcff wp-block-button\"><div class=\"uagb-button__wrapper\"><a class=\"uagb-buttons-repeater wp-block-button__link\" aria-label=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/pubs.asha.org\/doi\/10.1044\/2025_AJSLP-24-00326\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" role=\"button\"><div class=\"uagb-button__link\">learn more<\/div><span class=\"uagb-button__icon uagb-button__icon-position-after\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focussable=\"false\"><path d=\"M438.6 278.6l-160 160C272.4 444.9 264.2 448 256 448s-16.38-3.125-22.62-9.375c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25L338.8 288H32C14.33 288 .0016 273.7 .0016 256S14.33 224 32 224h306.8l-105.4-105.4c-12.5-12.5-12.5-32.75 0-45.25s32.75-12.5 45.25 0l160 160C451.1 245.9 451.1 266.1 438.6 278.6z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Abstract: Purpose: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an integrated rehabilitation intervention combining the social cognitive-communication (SocCom) training with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for individuals with chronic moderate\u2013severe acquired brain injury (MS-ABI), focusing on enhancing self-awareness and executive functions in an outpatient setting. Method: Twenty-five individuals with MS-ABI (Mage&nbsp;= 39.64,&nbsp;SD&nbsp;= 14.78;&nbsp;Mdntimesinceinjury&nbsp;= [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":69150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"publication_author":[212],"publication_year":[189],"class_list":["post-70907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-publications","publication_author-eva-pettemeridou","publication_year-189"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou.jpg","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou.jpg",1200,628,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou-300x157.jpg",300,157,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou-768x402.jpg",768,402,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou-1024x536.jpg",1024,536,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou.jpg",1200,628,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou.jpg",1200,628,false],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/15a_dr_eva_pettemeridou-18x9.jpg",18,9,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"p.efstathiou@uol.ac.cy","author_link":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/author\/p-efstathiouuol-ac-cy\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Abstract: Purpose: This pilot study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an integrated rehabilitation intervention combining the social cognitive-communication (SocCom) training with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for individuals with chronic moderate\u2013severe acquired brain injury (MS-ABI), focusing on enhancing self-awareness and executive functions in an outpatient setting. Method: Twenty-five individuals with MS-ABI (Mage&nbsp;= 39.64,&nbsp;SD&nbsp;= 14.78;&nbsp;Mdntimesinceinjury&nbsp;=&hellip;","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peAODB-irF","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-20 22:26:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70907"},{"taxonomy":"publication_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_author?post=70907"},{"taxonomy":"publication_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uol.ac.cy\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_year?post=70907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}