Olfactory memory in unmedicated schizophrenics

Abstract

Previous studies have indicated that schizophrenic patients have olfactory deficits. The question as to whether olfactory deficits are due to chronic effects of medication has not been addressed. This is the first paper to report that never-medicated schizophrenic patients also have olfactory deficits. Twenty four normal subjects and twenty unmedicated schizophrenic patients were examined with two tests of olfactory function: the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT) and a match-to-sample olfactory memory test. Results indicated that schizophrenics did poorly on both the UPSIT and the olfactory match-to-sample memory test relative to sex and age-matched controls. ANCOVA showed that the deficit in performance on the olfactory match-to-sample test was still present even when the variance due to the UPSIT was taken out of the analysis. Deficits in olfactory identification and olfactory memory are consistent with the concept that schizophrenics have dysfunctional limbic systems.