title: A comparative study of the working memory multicomponent model in psychosis and healthy controls.
abstract: Working memory deficits are considered nuclear deficits in psychotic disorders. However, research has not found a generalized impairment in all of the components of working memory. We aimed to assess the components of the Baddeley and Hitch working memory model: the temporary systems-the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad and the episodic buffer (introduced later by Baddeley)-and the central executive system, which includes four executive functions: divided attention, updating, shifting and inhibition. We assessed working memory performance in a sample of 21 patients with a psychotic disorder and 21 healthy controls. Patients also underwent a clinical assessment. Both univariate and repeated measures ANOVAs were applied to analyze performance in the working memory components between groups. Patients with a psychotic disorder underperformed compared to the controls in all of the working memory tasks, but after controlling for age and premorbid IQ, we only found a difference in performance in the N-Back task. Repeated measures ANCOVAs showed that patients also underperformed compared to the controls in the Digit span test and the TMT task. Not all of the components of working memory were impaired in the patients. Specifically, patients' performance was impaired in the tasks selected to assess the phonological loop and the shifting executive function. Patients' also showed worse performance than controls in the N-Back task, representative of the updating executive function. However, we did not find higher impairment in the patients' performance respect to controls when increasing the loading of the task.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Basic Psychology I, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Torres
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Basic Psychology I, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M Rosa
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Elosúa
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain; Department of Basic Psychology I, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lorente-Omeñaca
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain.
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moreno-Izco
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Complejo Hospitalario de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain; IdiSNA, Navarra Institute for Health Research, Pamplona, Spain. Electronic address: mcuestaz@cfnavarra.es.
authors.forename: Manuel J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Cuesta
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult