Related Experiment Videos
Visual object working memory function and clinical symptoms in schizophrenia
Sohee Park1, Jörg Püschel, Barbara H Sauter
1Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Wilson Hall, 111 21st Ave South, 37Nashville, TN 37240-0009, USA. sohee.park@vanderbilt.edu
Objective:
The presence of working memory deficits suggests abnormalities of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in schizophrenia. Although much is known about spatial working memory deficits in schizophrenia, including its potential as a phenotypic marker, it is unclear whether object working memory is similarly affected. Our goal was to examine nonspatial, object working memory function in relation to clinical symptoms.
Methods:
We assessed object working memory and clinical symptoms in 28 schizophrenia patients during acute psychotic episode and 4 months later during partial remission. Delayed-matching-to-sample tasks for familiar object (DMTS-F) and novel shapes (DMTS-N) were used. Symptoms were assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). 33 age-matched normal subjects were also tested over the same time period.
Results:
Acutely psychotic patients showed deficits in both DMTS-F and DMTS-N. Four months later, their DMTS-F performance improved significantly but deficits in DMTS-N were still present. During acute psychosis, symptoms correlated with DMTS-F but not with the DMTS-N. Four months later, negative symptoms correlated with both tasks.
Conclusions:
Object working memory as measured by DMTS-N was impaired in schizophrenia patients during both acute and chronic states. When schizophrenia patients were in partial remission, object working memory was associated with negative symptoms.