Slowed lexical access is uniquely associated with positive and disorganised symptoms in schizophrenia

Michael J. Minzenberg, John H. Poole, Sophia Vinogradov, Gregory K. Shenaut, Beth A. Ober

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

24 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction: This study addressed the relationship of both semantic priming and slowed lexical access to the symptoms of schizophrenia, and evaluated their association with other neurocognitive deficits. Methods: 57 outpatients with schizophrenia and 20 nonpsychiatric control subjects performed a lexical decision semantic priming task (LDT), and a brief neuropsychological battery. The schizophrenia group was also assessed with an extended Positive and Negative Symptom Scale. Results: As expected, the schizophrenia group had significantly slower reaction times (RTs) than the control group, and poorer performance on most neuropsychological tasks. Both groups exhibited semantic priming effects in both automatic and controlled processing conditions; these effects were not significantly different between groups. RT was unrelated to age, illness duration, GAF scores, or neuroleptic dose; controlled semantic priming effects were related to illness duration only. RT to real word targets (but not to nonwords) on the LDT was significantly correlated with positive and disorganised, but not negative symptoms. The neurocognitive correlates of RT slowing were: fullscale IQ and verbal fluency, but not attention; working memory; episodic memory retrieval; executive function, or manual speed. Both controlled semantic priming effects as well as the difference between controlled and automatic priming effects were related to executive functions in general. Severity of symptoms in the three major symptom groups was generally unassociated with impairment on the neuropsychological battery. The associations of RT slowing to positive and disorganised symptoms remained even after controlling for each of the above clinical and neurocognitive measures. Conclusions: These findings suggest that in schizophrenia, slowed lexical access is uniquely related to positive and disorganised symptoms. This relationship is not accounted for by more general cognitive deficits, overall illness severity, or generalised effects of symptoms on cognitive function. This relationship may reflect a specific impairment in the access to semantic memory.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)107-127
Number of pages21
JournalCognitive Neuropsychiatry
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2003

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Correspondence should be addressed to Dr Sophia Vinogradov Department of Psychiatry, 116C, DVA Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA; e-mail: [email protected] This work was supported in part by a Department of Veterans Affairs Research Fellowship in the Clinical Neuroscience to MJM and by NIMH grant No. 52906-01A1 to SV.

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