Spatial working memory ability is a marker of risk-for-psychosis

Background. Working memory has been identified as a core cognitive deficit in schizophrenia that is associated with negative symptoms, but it is unclear whether it is impaired prior to onset of psychosis in symptomatic patients. Method. Thirty-eight young people at ultra high-risk (UHR) of developin...

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Published in:Psychological medicine 2003-10, Vol.33 (7), p.1239-1247
Main Authors: WOOD, S. J., PANTELIS, C., PROFFITT, T., PHILLIPS, L. J., STUART, G. W., BUCHANAN, J.-A., MAHONY, K., BREWER, W., SMITH, D. J., McGORRY, P. D.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
Attention
Biological and medical sciences
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Hospitals
Humans
Illnesses
Male
Medical sciences
Memory
Memory, Short-Term
Neuropsychological Tests - statistics & numerical data
Orientation
Other psychotic disorders
Pattern Recognition, Visual
Problem Solving
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - statistics & numerical data
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychometrics - statistics & numerical data
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychoses
Psychosis
Reference Values
Retention (Psychology)
Risk
Risk factors
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - diagnosis
Schizophrenic Psychology
Schizotypal Personality Disorder - diagnosis
Schizotypal Personality Disorder - psychology
Sentence completion tests
Spatial memory
Working memory
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Summary:Background. Working memory has been identified as a core cognitive deficit in schizophrenia that is associated with negative symptoms, but it is unclear whether it is impaired prior to onset of psychosis in symptomatic patients. Method. Thirty-eight young people at ultra high-risk (UHR) of developing psychosis (of whom nine later became psychotic) were compared with 49 healthy controls on tests of spatial working memory (SWM) and delayed matching-to-sample (DMTS). Results. Both SWM and DMTS performance was significantly poorer in the UHR groups. Those who later became psychotic generally performed more poorly than those who did not, although this did not reach significance for any measure. A significant association between SWM errors and negative symptoms was seen in the later-psychotic group only (P=0·02). Conclusions. Spatial working memory abilities are impaired in those at high-risk for psychosis. The relationship between working memory and negative symptoms may be useful as a predictive tool.
ISSN:0033-2917
1469-8978
DOI:10.1017/S0033291703008067