Abstract
The stability of neuropsychological performance in schizophrenia and its relationship to clinical change was contrasted between 60 patients with schizophrenia (30 first-episode, 30 previously treated) and 38 healthy controls using a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and clinical scales administered at intake and at a 19-month follow-up. Consistent with the neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia, patients demonstrated deficits in cognitive performance at initial testing and did not show decline at follow-up. There were no differences in neuropsychological performance over time between first-episode and previously treated patients, nor between male and female patients or controls. As expected, patients improved clinically with treatment with respect to both positive and negative symptoms. First-episode patients improved more on the positive symptoms of hallucination and delusion; male and female patients showed equivalent clinical improvement. Clinical improvement correlated positively with neuropsychological change, with improved negative symptomatology accounting for most of the significant correlations.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 289-298 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Schizophrenia Research |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 11 1997 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Neurodevelopment
- Neuropsychology
- Schizophrenia
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Biological Psychiatry
- Neurology
- Psychology(all)