Latent Profiles of Cognitive Control, Episodic Memory, and Visual Perception Across Psychiatric Disorders Reveal a...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Schizophrenia (SZ) is often linked to more severe neurocognitive deficits than bipolar disorder.
• Significant variation exists in cognitive impairment across individuals with mental illnesses.
• The underlying neurobiology of cognitive dysfunction in psychosis is debated: unique to each disorder or a shared process?

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct patient profiles based on cognitive abilities across psychotic disorders.
• To determine if cognitive dysfunction represents unique disease processes or a common, severity-varying mechanism.
• To examine the relationship between identified cognitive profiles, diagnosis, and symptom severity.

Main Methods:

• Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used on data from the CNTRACS consortium.
• Cognitive domains assessed included cognitive control, episodic memory, and visual integration.
• LPA was conducted on 223 patients with bipolar disorder, SZ, and schizoaffective disorder.

Main Results:

• Three latent profiles of cognitive ability were identified: "Low," "Moderate," and "High."
• These profiles demonstrated a unidimensional structure, similar to a single continuous factor.
• Profile membership predicted symptom severity (using Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and Young Mania Rating Scale) and communication skills, independent of diagnosis.

Conclusions:

• Cognitive deficits in psychotic illnesses may reflect a common underlying neurobiological process that varies in severity.
• Identified cognitive profiles transcend diagnostic boundaries, suggesting shared vulnerabilities.
• These findings have implications for understanding the biological and clinical heterogeneity of psychosis.