Deficient relational binding processes in adolescents with psychosis: evidence from impaired memory for source and temporal context.
BACKGROUND
Findings from the literature consistently revealed episodic memory deficits in adolescents with psychosis. However, the nature of the dysfunction remains unclear. Based on a cognitive neuropsychological approach, a theoretically driven paradigm was used to generate valid interpretations about the underlying memory processes impaired in these patients.


METHODS
A total of 16 inpatient adolescents with psychosis and 19 individually matched controls were assessed using an experimental task designed to measure memory for source and temporal context of studied words. Retrospective confidence judgements for source and temporal context responses were also assessed.


RESULTS
On word recognition, patients had more difficulty than controls discriminating target words from neutral distractors. In addition, patients identified both source and temporal context features of recognised items less often than controls. Confidence judgements analyses revealed that the difference between the proportions of correct and incorrect responses made with high confidence was lower in patients than in controls. In addition, the proportion of high-confident responses that were errors was higher in patients compared to controls.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest impaired relational binding processes in adolescents with psychosis, resulting in a difficulty to create unified memory representations. Our findings on retrospective confidence data point to impaired monitoring of retrieved information that may also impair memory performance in these individuals.
Doré
Marie-Claire
MC
Ecole de psychologie, Université Laval, Québec.
Caza
Nicole
N
Gingras
Nathalie
N
Rouleau
Nancie
N
D000293:Adolescent; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001245:Association Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D001288:Attention; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016651:Lithium Carbonate / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013998:Time Perception / Q000187:drug effects; D014706:Verbal Learning
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D016651:Lithium Carbonate