Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026
Digital Handwriting Analysis of Characters in Chinese Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment
Published on: March 11, 2021
Meta-analysis of cognitive function in Chinese first-episode schizophrenia: MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery
Huijuan Zhang1, Yao Wang1, Yuliang Hu1
1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Background:
Compromised neurocognition is a core feature of schizophrenia. With increasing studies researching cognitive function of Chinese patients with first-episode schizophrenia (FES) using MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB), it is not clear about the level and pattern of cognitive impairment among this population.
Aim:
To provide a meta-analysis systematically analysing studies of neurocognitive function using MCCB in Chinese patients with FES.
Methods:
An independent literature search of both Chinese and English databases up to 13 March 2019 was conducted by two reviewers. Standardised mean difference (SMD) was calculated using the random effects model to evaluate the effect size.
Results:
56 studies (FES=3167, healthy controls (HC)=3017) were included and analysed. No study was rated as 'high quality' according to Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology. Compared with HCs, Chinese patients with FES showed impairment with large effect size in overall cognition (SMD=-1.60, 95% CI -1.82 to -1.38, I 2=67%) and all seven cognitive domains, with the SMD ranging from -0.87 to -1.41. In nine MCCB subtests, patients with FES showed significant difference in Symbol Coding (SMD=-1.90), Trail Making Test (TMT) (SMD=-1.36), Continuous Performance Test-Identical Pairs (SMD=-1.33), Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (SMD=-1.24), Brief Visuospatial Memory Test (SMD=-1.18), Mazes (SMD=-1.16), Category Fluency (SMD=-1.01), Spatial Span (SMD=-0.69) and Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (SMD=-0.38).
Conclusions:
Our meta-analysis demonstrates that Chinese patients with FES show neurocognitive deficits across all seven MCCB cognitive domains and all nine subtests, particularly in two neurocognitive domains: speed of processing and attention/vigilance, with the least impairment shown in social cognition. Symbol Coding and TMT may be the most sensitive tests to detect cognitive deficit in Chinese patients with FES.
Related Concept Videos
01:30Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...
01:38Cognitive Dissonance
01:27Language and Cognition
01:25Cognitive Therapy
01:23Cognition and Behavior
01:21Cognitive Learning
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...