title: Is it possible to be schizophrenic yet neuropsychologically normal?
abstract: This study identified and characterized a group of schizophrenic patients without neuropsychological (NP) impairment. A comprehensive NP battery was administered to 171 schizophrenic outpatients and 63 normal comparison participants. Each participant's NP status was classified through blind clinical ratings by 2 experienced neuropsychologists; 27% of the schizophrenics were classified as NP normal. The NP-normal and NP-impaired schizophrenics were similar in terms of most demographic, psychiatric, and functional characteristics, except that NP-normal patients had less negative and extrapyramidal symptoms, were on less anticholinergic medication, socialized more frequently, and were less likely to have had a recent psychiatric hospitalization. The existence of NP-normal schizophrenics suggests that the pathophysiology underlying the cognitive deficits often associated with schizophrenia may be distinct from that causing some of its core psychiatric features.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, USA.
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Heaton
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Paulsen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kuck
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Braff
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zisook
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Jeste
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012919:Social Behavior
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D018680:Cholinergic Antagonists