Related Experiment Videos
Frontal lobe impairment in schizophrenia: relationship to intellectual functioning
J R Crawford1, M C Obonsawin, M Bremner
1School of Psychology, Flinders University of South Australia, Adelaide.
Psychological Medicine
|August 1, 1993
Summary
Schizophrenia patients show lower verbal intelligence and fluency. Their verbal fluency is impaired beyond what is predicted by their verbal IQ, suggesting frontal lobe dysfunction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Schizophrenia is a complex mental disorder associated with cognitive deficits.
- Frontal lobe dysfunction is hypothesized to underlie some cognitive impairments in schizophrenia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate verbal fluency and verbal intelligence in schizophrenia patients.
- To determine if verbal fluency deficits in schizophrenia are explained by lower verbal IQ.
Main Methods:
- Administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Verbal Scale (VIQ) and a verbal fluency test to 48 schizophrenia patients and matched controls.
- Developed a regression equation predicting verbal fluency from VIQ and age in 144 healthy individuals.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients had significantly lower VIQ and verbal fluency scores than controls.
- Schizophrenia patients' verbal fluency was significantly lower than predicted by their VIQ and age.
Conclusions:
- Verbal fluency deficits in schizophrenia are not solely attributable to lower verbal IQ.
- These findings support the hypothesis of frontal lobe dysfunction in schizophrenia.