P.3.03 An fMRI study of executive function in first episode schizophrenia

Background:Schizophrenia has been associated with limited abilities to interact effectively in social situations. Face perception and ability to recognise familiar faces are critical for social interaction. Patients with chronic schizophrenia are known to show impaired face recognition. Studying first-episode (FE) patients allows the exclusion of confounding effects of chronicity, medication and institutionalisation in this deficit.Objective:To determine brain (dys)functions during a face encoding and recognition paradigm in FE schizophrenia.Methods:Thirteen antipsychotic-naïve FE schizophrenia patients and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a face encoding and recognition paradigm. Behavioural responses were recorded on line.Results:Patients recognised significantly fewer of previously presented faces than the controls (p = 0.008). At the neural level, both groups activated a network of regions including the fusiform area, occipital, temporal and frontal regions. In brain activity, the two groups did not differ in any region during encoding or recognition conditions (p > 0.05, corrected or uncorrected).Conclusions:Our findings show impaired face recognition without a significant alteration of related brain activity in FE schizophrenia patients. It is possible that neural changes become more strongly evident with progression of the illness, and manifest themselves as behavioural impairments during the early course.

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Executive function in first-episode schizophrenia: A three-year prospective study of the Hayling Sentence Completion Test

Schizophrenia Research ◽

10.1016/j.schres.2011.12.022 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 135 (1-3) ◽

pp. 62-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Kevin K.S. Chan ◽

J.Q. Xu ◽

Kristy C.M. Liu ◽

Christy L.M. Hui ◽

Gloria H.Y. Wong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Prospective Study ◽

Sentence Completion ◽

First Episode ◽

Completion Test ◽

First Episode Schizophrenia

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Study on the executive function and learning ability in first-episode schizophrenia patients

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/s0924-9338(11)73232-1 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (S2) ◽

pp. 1528-1528

Author(s):

H. Wang ◽

X. Liu ◽

Y. Fang

Keyword(s):

Executive Function ◽

Cognitive Dysfunction ◽

Negative Symptoms ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

Reaction Times ◽

Learning Ability ◽

First Episode ◽

Control Group ◽

First Episode Schizophrenia ◽

First Session

IntroductionCognitive dysfunction was thought to be one of the core features of schizophrenia. And the executive function of the patients was paid more attention by more and more researchers and clinicians.ObjectivesTo investigate the executive function and the learning ability of the patients with first-episode schizophrenia, and their relationships with psychiatric symptoms.MethodsFifty cases of first-episode schizophrenia patients and fifty age- and gender-matched healthy controls were tested by a computerized version of Tower of London (TOL) test. The scores of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale(PANSS) in the group of schizophrenia patients were over 60.ResultsThe numbers of the correct answer [x1 :(14.62 ± 4.12), x2: (14.80 ± 4.70)] during the first session and the second session of the TOL test of the patients group were significantly lower than that of the control group [x1: (17.48 ± 3.79), x2:(18.68 ± 3.19)], and the reaction times [t1: (9.27 ± 4.37) seconds, t2: (9.51 ± 5.58) seconds] of the two sessions of TOL were longer than the control group [t1: (7.28 ± 2.04) seconds, t2: (6.67 ± 1.51) seconds], P < 0.01. For the control group, x2 was significantly greater than x1, and t2 shorter than t1 (P < 0.01), while for the patients group, there was no difference between the performances of the first session and the second session. The scores of TOL in the schizophrenia patients were correlated with the negative symptom score of PANSS (P < 0.05) and were not correlated with the scores of other subscales of PANSS (P > 0.05).ConclusionsThe executive function and the learning ability of schizophrenia are impaired and the cognitive dysfunction is correlated with negative symptoms.

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