title: Early-onset schizophrenia is associated with impaired adolescent development of attentional capacity using the identical pairs continuous performance test.
abstract: The authors examined performance on the Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs "numbers" task in adolescents with schizophrenia (n=59) and healthy controls (n=55). Adjusting for an estimate of premorbid intelligence and socioeconomic status, patients performed worse than normal controls on all three d' conditions (2-digit, 3-digit, 4-digit). However, there was a significant group-by-age-by-condition interaction (F[4,100]=4.69, p<.01) indicating an interaction between development and disease state. At the simplest level of the task (2-digit) the difference between patients with schizophrenia and controls was evident at all ages; while for the more difficult levels of the task (3-digit, 4-digit), differences between groups gradually increased across the tested age span (10 to 20 years of age). Premorbid social isolation was associated with worse attentional performance in patients, suggesting a relationship and continuity with negative symptoms. These data suggest that attentional differences in adolescents with schizophrenia are better captured by different tasks at different ages. The discrepant findings of attentional impairments reported in the literature for adolescents with schizophrenia could reflect the underlying etiological complexity of the disorder that may have a variable impact on involved brain regions and neurocognitive functioning.
authors.affiliation: The Zucker-Hillside Hospital, Department of Psychiatry Research 75-59 263rd Street, Glen Oaks, NY 11004, USA. ethaden@lij.edu
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thaden
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Rhinewine
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lencz
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kester
authors.forename: Kelly L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Cervellione
authors.forename: Inika
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roofeh
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Burdick
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Napolitano
authors.forename: Barbara A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Cornblatt
authors.forename: Sanjiv
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumra
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology