Association of an oculomotor delayed response task and the Wisconsin Card Sort Test in schizophrenic patients

The relationship between a widely-used neuropsychological test of frontal lobe function, the Wisconsin Card Sort Test, and spatial working memory, as assessed by the oculomotor delayed response task, was examined in schizophrenic patients. Schizophrenic patients were impaired compared with bipolar and normal control subjects on both tasks and their working memory performance was significantly correlated with their WCST measures. The spatial working memory and the WCST deficits in schizophrenia may reflect disrupted circuitry mediated by the dorsolateral prefrontal system.