Semantic Organization and Verbal Memory Efficiency in Patients With Schizophrenia.

Background. We wished to assess the effect of three types of medication on verbal memory impairments in schizophrenia.Method. Forty-eight patients with schizophrenia and 40 healthy control subjects underwent a battery of verbal memory tasks, including free recall, recognition and short-term memory span. All the patients were on antipsychotic medication. In addition, 24 were taking anticholinergic drugs (benztropine) and 30 were taking benzodiazepines. A subsample of 39 had clinical ratings for depressive symptoms. Regression analyses were conducted on the memory measures in this subsample, with negative symptoms, depression, type of antipsychotic medication (conventional v. atypical), benzodiazepines and anticholinergic drugs as predictors.Results. Type of antipsychotic medication made no significant contribution to memory deficits and benzodiazepine use made very little contribution. However, anticholinergic medication was a predictor of memory impairment, especially with regard to semantic organization. Complementary analyses revealed that patients taking any type of drug with anticholinergic activity (benztropine and/or antipsychotic agents) were significantly impaired relative to the other patients on measures reflecting free recall efficiency and semantic organization.Conclusions. Drugs with anticholinergic activity are the major pharmacological agents that contribute to the verbal memory deficit observed in patients with schizophrenia. These drugs appear to act by impeding semantic organization at encoding.

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Depression, Avolition, and Attention Disorders in Patients with Schizophrenia: Associations with Verbal Memory Efficiency

Journal of Neuropsychiatry ◽

10.1176/jnp.2009.21.2.206 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 206-215 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Gildas Brébion ◽

Rodrigo A. Bressan ◽

Lyn S. Pilowsky ◽

Anthony S. David

Keyword(s):

Verbal Memory ◽

Attention Disorders ◽

Memory Efficiency

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Neuropsychological Deficits in the Prodromal Phase and Course of an Early-Onset Schizophrenia

Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1024/1422-4917/a000286 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 42 (3) ◽

pp. 167-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Vanessa Puetz ◽

Thomas Günther ◽

Berrak Kahraman-Lanzerath ◽

Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann ◽

Kerstin Konrad

Keyword(s):

Verbal Memory ◽

Early Onset ◽

Neuropsychological Functioning ◽

Neuropsychological Testing ◽

Clinical Situation ◽

Adolescent Male ◽

Antipsychotic Treatment ◽

Early Onset Schizophrenia ◽

Prodromal Phase ◽

Illness Onset

Objectives: Although clear advances have been achieved in the study of early-onset schizophrenia (EOS), little is known to date about premorbid and prodromal neuropsychological functioning in EOS. Method: Here, we report on a case of an adolescent male with EOS who underwent neuropsychological testing before and after illness onset. Results: Marked cognitive deficits in the domains of attention, set-shifting, and verbal memory were present both pre-onset and during the course of schizophrenia, though only deficits in verbal memory persisted after illness-onset and antipsychotic treatment. Conclusion: The findings of this case study suggest that impairments in the verbal memory domain are particularly prominent symptoms of cognitive impairment in prodromal EOS and persist in the course of the disorder, which further demonstrates the difficult clinical situation of adequate schooling opportunities for adolescent patients with EOS.

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Neural Encoding Correlates of High and Low Verbal Memory Performance

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803.20.2.68 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 20 (2) ◽

pp. 68-78 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Sibylle Heinze ◽

Gudrun Sartory ◽

Bernhard W. Müller ◽

Armin de Greiff ◽

Michael Forsting ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Verbal Memory ◽

Parietal Lobe ◽

Functional Neuroimaging ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Extrastriate Cortex ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Premotor Area ◽

High Performers ◽

Rehearsal Strategy ◽

Common Memory

Neuroimaging studies have indicated involvement of left prefrontal cortex and temporal areas in verbal memory processes. The current study used event-related functional neuroimaging to compare encoding of subsequently recalled and not recalled words in high and low memory performers. Fifteen healthy volunteers were given lists of words to learn with immediate recall and to read as a control condition. High performers reported to have visualized the words whereas low performers used a rehearsal strategy. Compared to reading, unsuccessful encoding was associated with thalamic and left premotor area (BA 6) activity. Comparing successful with unsuccessful learning yielded widespread activity of the left prefrontal and posterior temporal gyrus as well as the left superior parietal lobe in the whole group. Low performers showed activation of the left premotor area throughout learning and additionally of the left middle temporal and parahippocampal gyrus during successful encoding. High performers showed increased activation in the extrastriate cortex throughout learning and additionally in the left parietal post- and paracentral areas as well as in the right precuneus during successful encoding. The results suggest that high verbal memory performance is the result of spatiovisual activation concomitant to imagery and low performance of hippocampal and motor activation, the latter being associated with rehearsal, with a common memory circuit subserving both groups.

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Learning and Consolidation of Verbal Declarative Memory in Patients with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Zeitschrift für Psychologie / Journal of Psychology ◽

10.1027/0044-3409/a000020 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 218 (2) ◽

pp. 135-140 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Slawomira J. Diener ◽

Herta Flor ◽

Michèle Wessa

Keyword(s):

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ◽

Posttraumatic Stress ◽

Verbal Memory ◽

Stress Disorder ◽

Declarative Memory ◽

Memory Performance ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Depression Scale ◽

Learning Performance ◽

Ptsd Symptoms

Impairments in declarative memory have been reported in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fragmentation of explicit trauma-related memory has been assumed to impede the formation of a coherent memorization of the traumatic event and the integration into autobiographic memory. Together with a strong non-declarative memory that connects trauma reminders with a fear response the impairment in declarative memory is thought to be involved in the maintenance of PTSD symptoms. Fourteen PTSD patients, 14 traumatized subjects without PTSD, and 13 non-traumatized healthy controls (HC) were tested with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) to assess verbal declarative memory. PTSD symptoms were assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale and depression with the Center of Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Several indices of the CVLT pointed to an impairment in declarative memory performance in PTSD, but not in traumatized persons without PTSD or HC. No group differences were observed if recall of memory after a time delay was set in relation to initial learning performance. In the PTSD group verbal memory performance correlated significantly with hyperarousal symptoms, after concentration difficulties were accounted for. The present study confirmed previous reports of declarative verbal memory deficits in PTSD. Extending previous results, we propose that learning rather than memory consolidation is impaired in PTSD patients. Furthermore, arousal symptoms may interfere with successful memory formation in PTSD.

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Error Analysis in Neuropsychological Assessment of Verbal Memory and Learning

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759.11.1.21 ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 21-28 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Dietmar Heubrock

Keyword(s):

Error Analysis ◽

Verbal Memory ◽

Verbal Learning ◽

Learning Disorders ◽

Memory And Learning ◽

Auditory Verbal Learning Test ◽

Additional Information ◽

Auditory Verbal Learning ◽

Accurate Picture ◽

Learning Test

Performance on a German version of the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test (AVLT) was investigated for 64 juvenile patients who were subdivided in 6 clinical groups. In addition to standard evaluation of AVLT protocols which is usually confined to items recalled correctly, an error analysis was performed. Differentiating between total errors (TE), repetition errors (RE), and misnamings (ME), substantial differences between clinical groups could be demonstrated. It is argued that error analysis of verbal memory and learning enriches the understanding of neuropsychological syndromes, and provides additional information for diagnostic and clinical use. Thus, it is possible to gain a more accurate picture so that patients can be appropriately retrained, and research into the functional causes of memory and learning disorders can be intensified.

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