TY - JOUR
T1 - Deficits in memory strategy use are related to verbal memory impairments in adolescents with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
AU - Roofeh, David
AU - Cottone, John
AU - Burdick, Katherine E.
AU - Lencz, Todd
AU - Gyato, Kunsang
AU - Cervellione, Kelly L.
AU - Napolitano, Barbara
AU - Kester, Hana
AU - Anderson, Britt
AU - Kumra, Sanjiv
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by grants from NARSAD (SK, as a Lieber Investigator) and the National Institute of Mental Health to Dr. Kumra (MH01990).
Copyright:
Copyright 2011 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2006/7
Y1 - 2006/7
N2 - Objective: To assess the nature of learning and verbal memory deficits in adolescents with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SzS) (i.e., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophreniform disorder). Method: Sixty patients with SzS (mean age = 16.1 years, S.D. = 2.2) and 60 age- and gender-matched diagnosis-free healthy volunteers were assessed using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Planned analyses were conducted to assess the following aspects of memory: span of apprehension, verbal learning, short-term and long-term memory, rate of forgetting, interference, and organizational strategies. Adolescents with schizophrenia (Sz) were compared to those with schizoaffective disorder (SzA). Second, patients' test profiles were compared to those of controls. Relationships between initial learning and overall verbal learning with organizational strategy were explored. Results: Neurocognitive profiles did not significantly differ between Sz and SzA participants. Patients performed significantly worse than healthy comparison subjects on measures of span of apprehension, verbal learning, short- and long-term memory, and organizational strategies after adjusting for differences in premorbid intelligence. No group differences were found in rate of forgetting or susceptibility to proactive or retroactive interference. Conclusions: Adolescents with SzS are characterized by significant verbal memory dysfunction similar to what has been observed in adults with first-episode schizophrenia. Deficits in consistency of learning over several trials, as well as a strong relationship between semantic organizational strategies and reduced learning capacity, implicate dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex as a contributor to verbal memory deficits in adolescents with SzS.
AB - Objective: To assess the nature of learning and verbal memory deficits in adolescents with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (SzS) (i.e., schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and schizophreniform disorder). Method: Sixty patients with SzS (mean age = 16.1 years, S.D. = 2.2) and 60 age- and gender-matched diagnosis-free healthy volunteers were assessed using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). Planned analyses were conducted to assess the following aspects of memory: span of apprehension, verbal learning, short-term and long-term memory, rate of forgetting, interference, and organizational strategies. Adolescents with schizophrenia (Sz) were compared to those with schizoaffective disorder (SzA). Second, patients' test profiles were compared to those of controls. Relationships between initial learning and overall verbal learning with organizational strategy were explored. Results: Neurocognitive profiles did not significantly differ between Sz and SzA participants. Patients performed significantly worse than healthy comparison subjects on measures of span of apprehension, verbal learning, short- and long-term memory, and organizational strategies after adjusting for differences in premorbid intelligence. No group differences were found in rate of forgetting or susceptibility to proactive or retroactive interference. Conclusions: Adolescents with SzS are characterized by significant verbal memory dysfunction similar to what has been observed in adults with first-episode schizophrenia. Deficits in consistency of learning over several trials, as well as a strong relationship between semantic organizational strategies and reduced learning capacity, implicate dysfunction of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex as a contributor to verbal memory deficits in adolescents with SzS.
KW - Adolescence
KW - CVLT
KW - Schizophrenia
KW - Semantic organization
KW - Verbal memory deficits
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U2 - 10.1016/j.schres.2006.03.030
DO - 10.1016/j.schres.2006.03.030
M3 - Article
C2 - 16690255
AN - SCOPUS:33745336855
VL - 85
SP - 201
EP - 212
JO - Schizophrenia Research
JF - Schizophrenia Research
SN - 0920-9964
IS - 1-3
ER -