Original scientific paper

COGNITIVE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN SCHIZOPHRENIA: COMPARING MEMORY PERFORMANCES WITH OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER PATIENTS AND NORMAL SUBJECTS ON THE WECHSLER MEMORY SCALE-IV

Davide Maria Cammisuli ; Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, Pisa University School of Medicine, Pisa, Italy
Marco Timpano Sportiello ; Department of Surgical, Medical, Molecular and Critical Area Pathology, Pisa University School of Medicine, Pisa, Italy; Hospital Psychology, Area vasta Nord Ovest Toscana, Pisa, Italy

Abstract

Background: Memory system turns out to be one of the cognitive domains most severely impaired in schizophrenia. Within the
theoretical framework of cognitive psychopathology, we compared the performance of schizophrenia patients on the Wechsler
Memory Scale-IV with that in matched patients with Obsessive-compulsive disorder and that in healthy control subjects to establish
the specific nature of memory deficits in schizophrenia.
Subjects and methods: 30 schizophrenia patients, 30 obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and 40 healthy controls completed
the Wechsler Memory Scale-IV. Schizophrenia symptom severity was assessed by the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale
(PANSS). Performances on memory battery including Indexes and subtests scores were compared by a One-Way ANOVA (Scheffé
post-hoc test). Spearman Rank correlations were performed between scores on PANSS subscales and symptoms and WMS-IV Indexes
and subtests, respectively.
Results: Schizophrenia patients showed a memory profile characterized by mild difficulties in auditory memory and visual
working memory and poor functioning of visual, immediate and delayed memory. As expected, schizophrenia patients scored lower
than healthy controls on all WMS-IV measures. With regard to the WMS-IV Indexes, schizophrenia patients performed worse on
Auditory Memory, Visual Memory, Immediate and Delayed Memory than Obsessive-compulsive disorder patients but not on Visual
Working Memory. Such a pattern was made even clearer for specific tasks such as immediate and delayed recall and spatial recall
and memory for visual details, as revealed by the lowest scores on Logical Memory (immediate and delayed conditions) and Designs
(immediate condition) subtests, respectively. Significant negative correlations between Logical Memory I and II were found with
PANSS Excitement symptom as well as between DE I and PANSS Tension symptom. Significant positive correlations between LM II
and PANSS Blunted affect and Poor rapport symptoms as well as DE I and PANSS Blunted affect and Mannerism and Posturing
symptoms, were found too.
Conclusions: Memory damage observed in schizophrenia patients was more severe and wider than that of patients with
obsessive-compulsive disorder, except for visual working memory. Memory dysfunction, mainly related to episodic memory damage
and reduced efficiency of central executive, is intimately connected to the specific psychopathological processes characterizing
schizophrenia. Implications for therapeutics and cognitive remediation techniques are discussed.

Keywords

schizoprenia; obsessive-compulsive disorder; cognition; memory deficit; Wechsler Memory Scale

Hrčak ID:

175255

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/175255

Publication date:

7.6.2016.

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