What is COSIMO?

COSIMO is a an app-based test of social cognition, currently being developed at the Swiss Epilepsy Center and the University of Zurich. The app aims to be available to as many people as possible through its intuitive tablet-, phone-, and computer-friendly setup. It requires no sound to participate and the test is already available in several languages. We are currently still in the development phase.

What is social cognition?

Social cognition allows us to understand the people around us as well as express ourselves in a way that can be understood by others. It is a vital part of daily life, contributing to perceived quality of life and the aibility to maintain both jobs and relationships. Many neurological and psychiatric disorders are associated with challenges in social cognition, but it is still often overlooked as there are no sufficiently reliable and widespread tests or therapies. COSIMO aims to provide an easy way for clinicians to implement quick and reliable screening for social cognition challenges in their diagnostic processes.

Background

The Institute of Neuropsychological Diagnostics and Imaging (INDB) at the Swiss Epilepsy Centre has been involved in research on topics of epilepsy and social cognition for naerly two decades. The lessons learned in this time, through projects such as Networks of Emotion Processing (NEmo), have lead to COSIMO. You may have a look at the previous research of our lab by going here: INDB list of publications.