title: Schizophrenic-like neurocognitive deficits in children and adolescents with 22q11 deletion syndrome.
abstract: 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS) is the most common genetic microdeletion syndrome affecting humans. The syndrome is associated with general cognitive impairments and specific deficits in visual-spatial ability, non-verbal reasoning, and planning skills. 22q11DS is also associated with behavioral and psychiatric abnormalities, including a markedly elevated risk for schizophrenia. Research findings indicate that people with schizophrenia, as well as those identified as schizoptypic, show specific cognitive deficits in the areas of sustained attention, executive functioning, and verbal working memory. The present study examined such schizophrenic-like cognitive deficits in children and adolescents with 22q11DS (n = 26) and controls (n = 25) using a cross-sectional design. As hypothesized, 22q11DS participants exhibited deficits in intelligence, achievement, sustained attention, executive functioning, and verbal working memory compared to controls. Furthermore, deficits in attention and executive functioning were more pronounced in the 22q11DS sample relative to general cognitive impairment. These findings suggest that the same pattern of neuropsychological impairment seen in patients with schizophrenia is present in non-psychotic children identified as at-risk for the development of schizophrenia based on a known genetic risk marker.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina 27401, USA. kelewand@uncg.edu
authors.forename: Kathryn Eve
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Lewandowski
authors.forename: Vandana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shashi
authors.forename: Peggy M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Kwapil
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D002892:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 22 / Q000235:genetics; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D004062:DiGeorge Syndrome / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000235:genetics; D008959:Models, Neurological; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012307:Risk Factors; D012561:Schizophrenia, Childhood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology