Neurocognitive impairment, particularly involving attention and memory, is a “robust” characteristic of individuals at clinical high risk (CHR) for psychosis, especially those who transition to psychosis later on, a landmark study suggests.
“Our findings support theoretical models hypothesizing attention and working memory abilities impairments and, even more strongly, impaired declarative memory abilities as central to the CHR stage,” the investigators, with first author Larry J. Seidman, PhD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, write.
The study was published online November 2 in JAMA Psychiatry.
“The results provide a new reference point for clinicians and researchers by elucidating the profile of neurocognitive deficits associated with the prodrome as well as their potential as risk markers for conversion to clinical psychosis,” they write.
“If this Invited Commentary may make one recommendation to readers, it is that the supplementary material should be read with the same level of interest as the main article. This may be one of those rare occasions when the supplementary material is almost as relevant as the article itself,” they write.
Summary:
Questions
What are the core neurocognitive dysfunctions
associated with the clinical high-risk state of psychosis, and which
functions are associated with individuals who transition to full
psychosis?
Findings
In this multisite, case-control study and standardized
assessment across 8 sites, clinical high-risk individuals were
significantly impaired in virtually all neurocognitive dimensions
compared with controls, especially in those who later transitioned
to psychosis. Verbal abilities and declarative memory abilities were
associated with time to conversion to psychosis, in association
with age, site, and unusual thought content and suspiciousness.
Meaning
Interventions targeting the enhancement of
neurocognitive functioning are warranted in those at clinical high
risk for psychosis
FULL RESEARCH PAPER HERE:
Association_of_Neurocognition_with_Transition_to_Psychosis_seidman2016.pdf (396.9 KB)