People with schizophrenia show enhanced cognitive costs of maintaining a single item in working memory

Working memory (WM) deficits are seen as a core deficit in schizophrenia, implicated in the broad cognitive impairment seen in the illness. Here we examine the impact of WM storage of a single item on the operation of other cognitive systems. We studied 37 healthy controls (HCS) and 43 people with s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological medicine 2020-04, Vol.50 (5), p.867-873
Main Authors: Gold, James M, Bansal, Sonia, Gaspar, John M, Chen, Shuo, Robinson, Benjamin M, Hahn, Britta, Luck, Steven J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Adult
Attention
Case-Control Studies
Cognition
Cognitive ability
Cognitive Dysfunction - complications
Cognitive impairment
Cognitive systems
Female
Humans
Male
Memory
Memory Disorders
Memory, Short-Term
Mental disorders
Middle Aged
Outpatient care facilities
Photic Stimulation
Psychotropic drugs
Reaction Time
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - complications
Schizophrenic Psychology
Short term memory
Young Adult
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Summary:Working memory (WM) deficits are seen as a core deficit in schizophrenia, implicated in the broad cognitive impairment seen in the illness. Here we examine the impact of WM storage of a single item on the operation of other cognitive systems. We studied 37 healthy controls (HCS) and 43 people with schizophrenia (PSZ). Each trial consisted of a sequence of two potential target stimuli, T1 and T2. T1 was a letter presented for 100 ms. After delays of 100-800 ms, T2 was presented. T2 was a 1 or a 2 and required a speeded response. In one condition, subjects were instructed to ignore T1 but respond to T2. In another condition, they were required to report T1 after making their speeded response to T2 (i.e. to make a speeded T2 response while holding T1 in WM). PSZ were dramatically slowed at responding to T2 when T1 was held in WM. A repeated measures ANOVA yielded main effects of group, delay, and condition with a group by condition interaction (p's < 0.001). Across delays, the slowing of the T2 response when required to hold T1 in memory, relative to ignoring T1, was nearly 3 times higher in PSZ than HCS (633 v. 219 ms). Whereas previous studies have focused on reduced storage capacity, the present study found that PSZ are impaired at performing tasks while they are successfully maintaining a single item in WM. This may play a role in the broad cognitive impairment seen in PSZ.
ISSN:0033-2917
1469-8978
DOI:10.1017/S0033291719000862