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Cognitive function in early onset schizophrenia: a selective review
1Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London London, UK.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|February 9, 2010
Summary
Early Onset Schizophrenia (EOS) impairs cognitive functions like IQ, attention, memory, and executive function in youth. These deficits persist and show greater age-related deviance compared to healthy adolescents.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Schizophrenia is linked to neurodevelopmental disruptions from genetic and environmental factors.
- Early Onset Schizophrenia (EOS) is a severe childhood/adolescent form of the disorder.
- EOS provides insight into how disease affects cognitive development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review cognitive function domains in Early Onset Schizophrenia (EOS).
- Focus areas include IQ, attention, executive function, and memory.
- To compare cognitive profiles in EOS versus Adult Onset Schizophrenia (AOS) and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of studies on cognitive function in EOS patients.
- Analysis of general intellectual ability (IQ), attention, executive function, and memory.
- Comparison of findings across studies with methodological variability.
Main Results:
- EOS patients exhibit significant cognitive impairments (IQ, attention, memory, executive function) compared to healthy peers.
- Cognitive profiles in EOS are comparable to AOS, despite EOS's increased clinical severity.
- Healthy adolescents show age-related cognitive improvements, unlike EOS patients, leading to greater performance deviance.
Conclusions:
- Early Onset Schizophrenia is associated with substantial and persistent cognitive deficits.
- Cognitive impairments in EOS do not significantly differ from adult-onset forms.
- EOS patients struggle with acquiring new information and employing advanced cognitive strategies, contributing to age-related performance decline.
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