title: Everyday action in schizophrenia: performance patterns and underlying cognitive mechanisms.
abstract: Everyday action is impaired among individuals with schizophrenia, yet few studies have characterized the nature of this deficit using performance-based measures. This study examined the performance of 20 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder on the Naturalistic Action Test (M. F. Schwartz, L. J. Buxbaum, M. Ferraro, T. Veramonti, & M. Segal, 2003). Performance was coded to examine overall impairment, task accomplishment, and error patterns and was compared with that of healthy controls (n = 28) and individuals with mild dementia (n = 23). Additionally, 2 competing accounts of everyday action deficits, the resource theory and an executive account, were evaluated. When compared with controls, the participants with schizophrenia demonstrated impaired performance. Relative to dementia patients, participants with schizophrenia obtained higher accomplishment scores but committed comparable rates of errors. Moreover, distributions of error types for the 2 groups differed, with the participants with schizophrenia demonstrating greater proportions of errors associated with executive dysfunction. This is the 1st study to show different Naturalistic Action Test performance patterns between 2 neurologically impaired populations. The distinct performance pattern demonstrated by individuals with schizophrenia reflects specific deficits in executive function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Rachel K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Kessler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Giovannetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology.
authors.forename: Laura R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: MacMullen
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology