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Apathy is associated with executive functioning in first episode psychosis
Ann Faerden1, Anja Vaskinn, Arnstein Finset
1Ullevål University Hospital, 0407 Oslo, Norway. ann.farden@medisin.uio.no
BMC Psychiatry
|January 10, 2009
Summary
Apathy in first episode psychosis (FEP) is linked to executive functioning, similar to findings in schizophrenia and other brain disorders. This suggests a common neurological basis for apathy across conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Negative symptoms in psychosis, particularly apathy, are not well understood.
- Apathy's link to neurocognition, especially executive function, is established in other brain disorders but less studied in first episode psychosis (FEP).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between apathy and neurocognitive functioning in FEP patients.
- To test the hypothesis that apathy is more strongly associated with executive function than other neurocognitive domains.
Main Methods:
- Seventy-one FEP patients underwent an extensive neuropsychological test battery.
- Apathy levels were measured using the abridged Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES-C-Apathy).
Main Results:
- Apathy (AES-C-Apathy) showed significant associations with executive function tests, including semantic fluency (r = .37, p < .01) and phonetic fluency (r = .25, p < .05).
- A significant association was also found with working memory (Letter Number Span, r = .26, p =< .05).
- Confounding factors like depression, positive symptoms, and medication did not significantly alter these results.
Conclusions:
- The study replicated the association between apathy and executive functioning in FEP patients, consistent with findings in chronic schizophrenia.
- The relationship between apathy and executive functioning in FEP mirrors that seen in other brain disorders, suggesting a shared underlying mechanism.
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