title: Impaired musical ability in people with schizophrenia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessment of the musical ability of people with schizophrenia has attracted little interest despite the diverse and substantive findings of impairments in sound perception and processing and the therapeutic effect of music in people with the illness. The present study investigated the musical ability of people with schizophrenia and the association with psychiatric symptoms and cognition.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited patients with chronic schizophrenia and healthy controls for participation in our study. To measure musical ability and cognitive function, we used the Montreal Battery of Evaluation of Amusia (MBEA) and the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). We carried out a mediation analysis to investigate a possible pathway to a deficit in musical ability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We enrolled 50 patients and 58 controls in the study. The MBEA global score in patients with schizophrenia was significantly lower than that in controls (p < 0.001), and was strongly associated with both the composite cognitive function score (r = 0.645, p < 0.001) and the negative symptom score (r = -0.504, p < 0.001). Further analyses revealed direct and indirect effects of negative symptoms on musical ability. The indirect effects were mediated through cognitive impairment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relatively small sample size did not permit full evaluation of the possible effects of age, sex, education, medication and cultural influences on the results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Examining the associations between musical deficits, negative symptoms and cognitive imapirment in patients with schizophrenia may identify shared biological mechanisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Aizu Medical Center, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Sanae
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hatada
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Aizu Medical Center, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada Kochi Prefectural Aki General Hospital, Kochi, Japan.
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sawada
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Aizu Medical Center, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akamatsu
authors.affiliation: Kochi Prefectural Aki General Hospital, Kochi, Japan.
authors.forename: Erina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Doi
authors.affiliation: Kochi Prefectural Aki General Hospital, Kochi, Japan.
authors.forename: Masayoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Minese
authors.affiliation: Kochi Health Sciences Center, Kochi, Japan.
authors.forename: Motoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamashita
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Allen E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Thornton
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Honer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Aizu Medical Center, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Shimpei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inoue
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003071:Cognition; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000188:drug therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents