title: Pretreatment and longitudinal studies of neuropsychological deficits in antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia.
abstract: The early course of neuropsychological dysfunction in schizophrenia and the impact of treatment on these deficits need to be better specified. A sample of 45 patients with schizophrenia underwent five neuropsychological evaluations from prior to treatment with antipsychotic treatment through a 2-year follow-up period. A comparison sample of 33 matched healthy individuals underwent neuropsychological evaluations at similar time points. At baseline, a generalized deficit across cognitive domains was evident for the schizophrenia sample. After 6 weeks of treatment, patients showed modest improvements in visual memory and visual perception, but a decline in verbal memory. Verbal memory performance returned to baseline levels by the 6-month follow-up while deficits in other neuropsychological domains persisted throughout the 2-year period. Relatively static and generalized neuropsychological dysfunction, evident from illness onset, is consistent with neurodevelopmental rather than neurodegenerative models of schizophrenia.
authors.affiliation: Center for Cognitive Medicine, Department of Psychiatry (M/C 913), University of Illinois at Chicago, 912 South Wood Street, Suite 235, Chicago, IL 60612, USA. shill@psych.uic.edu
authors.forename: S Kristian
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schuepbach
authors.forename: Ellen S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Herbener
authors.forename: Matcheri S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Keshavan
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Sweeney
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents