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Cognitive functioning in patients with affective disorders and schizophrenia: a meta-analysis
Evgenia Stefanopoulou1, Andiappan Manoharan, Sabine Landau
1Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Institute of Psychiatry and Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health, King's College London, London, UK.
International Review of Psychiatry (Abingdon, England)
|April 9, 2010
Summary
Cognitive dysfunction is common in schizophrenia and affective disorders, with similar quantitative deficits observed in intellectual ability, information processing speed, and response control between these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Cognitive dysfunction is a known feature of schizophrenia and affective disorders.
- The precise nature of cognitive similarities and differences between these conditions is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantitatively review and compare cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia and affective disorders.
- To elucidate the pattern of cognitive deficits across these diagnostic groups.
Main Methods:
- A literature search was conducted in major databases from January 1980 to December 2005.
- Meta-analytic techniques were employed to synthesize data from relevant studies.
Main Results:
- Both schizophrenia and affective disorder patients exhibited widespread cognitive deficits.
- Deficits were noted in intellectual ability, speed of information processing, memory encoding and retrieval, rule discovery, and response inhibition/generation.
- Differences between the diagnostic groups were quantitative, not qualitative.
Conclusions:
- Schizophrenia and affective disorders share significant, overlapping patterns of cognitive impairment.
- The observed cognitive deficits are broadly similar across these conditions, differing mainly in degree rather than kind.
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