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
Review
. 2010;12(3):383-92.
doi: 10.31887/DCNS.2010.12.3/areichenberg.

The assessment of neuropsychological functioning in schizophrenia

Abraham Reichenberg  1
Affiliations
Review

The assessment of neuropsychological functioning in schizophrenia

Abraham Reichenberg. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2010.

Abstract
in English, Spanish, French

Overwhelming evidence suggests that compromised neuropsychological function is frequently observed in schizophrenia. The neuropsychological profile is typically characterized by prominent specific deficits in memory and learning, working memory, executive functions, attention, and processing speed, which are evident on a background of a generalized cognitive deficit. This paper provides a review of studies of neuropsychological functioning in schizophrenia. The main cognitive ability areas affected in schizophrenia are described, and the degree of impairment in each ability area as found in studies of schizophrenia patients is summarized, based on meta-analytic findings. Recent studies that have compared neuropsychological functioning across psychotic disorders are presented, and finally, neuropsychological assessment batteries specifically developed for schizophrenia are introduced.

Existe abundante evidencia que sugiere que en la esquizofrenia es frecuente observar alteraciones de la función neuropsicológica. El perfil neuropsicológico se caracteriza típicamente por marcados déficit específicos en la memoria y el aprendizaje, la memoria de trabajo, las funciones ejecutivas, la atención y la velocidad de procesamiento, los que son evidentes en el contexto de un déficit cognitivo generalizado. Este artículo proporciona una revisión de estudios acerca del funcionamiento neuropsicológico en la esquizofrenia. Se describen las principales áreas de capacidades cognitivas que están afectadas en la esquizofrenia y se resume el grado de deterioro de cada área de capacidad como se ha establecido en estudios de pacientes con esquizofrenia de acuerdo con los hallazgos de estudios de meta -análisis. Se presentan estudios recientes que han comparado el funcionamiento neuropsicológico en diversos trastornos psicóticos y finalmente se incorporan baterías de evaluación neuropsicológica específicamente desarrolladas para la esquizofrenia.

Les preuves d'un dysfonctionnement neuropsychologique fréquent dans la schizophrénie ne se comptent plus. Le profil neuropsychologique se caractérise généralement par des déficits spécifiques importants de la mémoire et de l'apprentissage, de la mémoire de travail, des fonctions exécutives, de l'attention et de la vitesse de traitement de l'information, qui s'inscrivent dans un contexte de déficit cognitif généralisé. Cet article passe en revue des études sur le fonctionnement neuropsychologique dans la schizophrénie. Il décrit les principales aires de compétence cognitive touchées dans la shizophrénie et résume le degré d'atteinte de chaque aire de compétence à partir d'études sur les schizophrènes, basées sur des données métaanalytiques. Il rapporte enfin des études récentes qui ont comparé le fonctionnement neuropsychologique au cours des troubles psychotiques et finalement, présente des batteries de tests d'évaluation neuropsychologique développés spécifiquement pour la schizophrénie.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Neuropsychological performance profile of schizophrenia. Summary of results from meta-analytic studies presented in effect-size units (median effect size was calculated from available meta-analyses).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Neuropsychological performance profile of schizophrenia, psychotic major depressive disorder, and psychotic bipolar disorder. Performance was compared with healthy controls and is presented in standard deviation units (effect sizes). Data are from the AESOP first-episode study
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. Rates and severity of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia patients. Data came from the Suffolk County Mental Health Project cohort, (N=94 cases). Definition of impairment Mild: Performance between 1 and 2 standard deviations below norms on at least 2 cognitive ability areas. Moderate Performance between 2 and 3 standard deviations below norms on at least 2 cognitive ability areas. Severe: Performance 3 or more standard deviations below norms on at least 2 cognitive ability areas.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Seidman LJ. Schizophrenia and brain dysfunction: an integration of recent neurodiagnostic findings. Psychol Bull. 1983;94:195–238. - PubMed
    1. Reichenberg A, Harvey PD. Neuropsychological impairments in schizophrenia: Integration of performance-based and brain imaging findings. Psychol Bull. 2007;133:833–858. - PubMed
    1. Kremen WS, Seidman LJ, Faraone SV, Toomey R, Tsuang MT. The paradox of normal neuropsychological function in schizophrenia. J Abnorm Psychol. 2000;109:743–752. - PubMed
    1. Elvevag B, Goldberg TE. Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is the core of the disorder. Crit Rev Neurobiol. 2000;14:1–21. - PubMed
    1. Green MF, Kern RS, Braff DL, Mintz J. Neurocognitive deficits and functional outcome in schizophrenia: are we measuring the “right stuff”? Schizophr Bull. 2000;26:119–136. - PubMed