Altered selection during language processing in individuals at high risk for psychosis

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Neuropsychology

Background:

• Executive function (EF) is crucial for psychosis outcomes.
• Individuals at high risk for psychosis (UHR) often exhibit executive function deficits, particularly in verbal fluency.
• Understanding specific EF impairments in UHR populations is vital for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether selection among alternatives and retrieval from semantic memory are dissociable executive functions in UHR individuals.
• To examine the relationship between these specific EF facets and clinical symptoms in the UHR group.

Main Methods:

• A verb generation task was administered to 45 UHR individuals and 46 healthy controls (HVs).
• Selection costs and retrieval costs were measured to assess performance in distinct EF domains.
• Participants also underwent assessment for clinical symptoms.

Main Results:

• UHR individuals demonstrated significantly greater selection costs compared to HVs.
• No significant group differences were found in retrieval costs.
• A positive association was observed between disorganized/negative symptoms and selection costs in the UHR group.

Conclusions:

• UHR individuals exhibit specific impairments in selecting among alternatives, suggesting a deficit in neural inhibition within EF.
• Retrieval from semantic memory appears intact in this population.
• These findings highlight a distinct EF subdomain impairment in UHR that may contribute to their clinical presentation.