Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 May;33(3):648-51.
doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbm024. Epub 2007 Apr 9.

Clinicians' concepts of the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia

Elizabeth Bromley  1
Affiliations

Clinicians' concepts of the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia

Elizabeth Bromley. Schizophr Bull. 2007 May.

Abstract

Several compounds to improve cognition in schizophrenia are being studied in clinical trials, but little is known about how clinicians conceptualize the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia. In a pilot study, the author asked 40 psychiatrists 3 brief questions about the clinical presentation of cognitive deficits. Descriptions of cognitive deficits show high variability. Informants describe phenomenology like follow-through, attention, and emptiness as indicative of cognitive impairment. Informants' concepts of cognitive deficits overlap substantially with positive, negative, and thought disorder symptoms. Clinicians' concepts are complex and contextualized, in contrast to the discrete skills measured by neuropsychological tests. Results suggest that appropriate prescribing of cognition-enhancing medications may be challenging.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Heinrichs RW, Zakzanis KK. Neurocognitive deficit in schizophrenia: a quantitative review of the evidence. Neuropsychology. 1998;12:426–445. - PubMed
    1. Bromley E. A collaborative approach to targeted treatment development for schizophrenia: a qualitative evaluation of the NIMH-MATRICS project. Schizophr Bull. 2005;31:954–961. - PubMed
    1. Marder SR, Fenton W, Youens K. Schizophrenia, IX: cognition in schizophrenia–the MATRICS initiative. Am J Psychiatry. 2004;161:25. - PubMed
    1. Moritz S, Ferahli S, Naber D. Memory and attention performance in psychiatric patients: lack of correspondence between clinician-rated and patient-rated functioning with neuropsychological test results. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2004;10:623–633. - PubMed
    1. Medalia A, Lim RW. Self-awareness of cognitive functioning in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res. 2004;71:331–338. - PubMed