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Working and strategic memory deficits in schizophrenia
M Stone1, J D Gabrieli, G T Stebbins
1Department of Psychology, Stanford University, USA. mstone@mail.arc.nasa.gov
Neuropsychology
|April 29, 1998
Summary
Schizophrenia patients show significant deficits in working memory, impacting strategic memory performance. This impairment is central to cognitive decline in schizophrenia, suggesting frontal lobe dysfunction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Schizophrenia is associated with cognitive impairments, particularly affecting memory.
- Working memory plays a crucial role in higher-level cognitive functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of working memory in strategic memory deficits in schizophrenia.
- To determine if working memory impairment explains performance differences on strategic and nonstrategic memory tests.
Main Methods:
- 18 male schizophrenia patients and 15 male controls completed tests of immediate, working, strategic, and recognition memory.
- Tests included digit span (forward and backward), listening span, computation span, free recall, temporal order, self-ordered pointing, and recognition.
Main Results:
- Schizophrenia patients performed worse across all memory tests.
- Working memory deficits significantly accounted for group differences in strategic memory performance.
- Working memory impairment did not explain deficits in recognition memory.
Conclusions:
- Working memory impairment is a core feature of cognitive dysfunction in schizophrenia, potentially linked to frontal lobe dysfunction.
- Deficits in recognition memory may involve additional medial-temporal lobe dysfunction.