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Working Memory Deficit and Attentional Distractibility in Schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

M. Becske ,
C. Marosi ,
H. Molnár ,
Z. Fodor ,
L. Tombor  and
G. Csukly
M. Becske*
Affiliation:
Semmelweis University, Department Of Psychiatry And Psychotherapy, Budapest, Hungary
C. Marosi
Affiliation:
Semmelweis University, Department Of Psychiatry And Psychotherapy, Budapest, Hungary
H. Molnár
Affiliation:
Semmelweis University, Department Of Psychiatry And Psychotherapy, Budapest, Hungary
Z. Fodor
Affiliation:
Semmelweis University, Department Of Psychiatry And Psychotherapy, Budapest, Hungary
L. Tombor
Affiliation:
Semmelweis University, Department Of Psychiatry And Psychotherapy, Budapest, Hungary
G. Csukly
Affiliation:
Semmelweis University, Department Of Psychiatry And Psychotherapy, Budapest, Hungary
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Meta-analyses suggest that patients with schizophrenia show deficit in working memory – both verbal and visual – and are more distractible. Working memory disturbances are even regarded as the central deficit in schizophrenia by some researchers. Theta synchronization (especially over fronto-central areas) is related to cognitive control and executive functioning during working memory encoding and retention.

Objectives

The main goal of the study was to gain more understanding of the nature of working memory deficit and attentional distractibility in schizophrenia.

Methods

35 patients with schizophrenia and 39 matched controls were enrolled in our study. Participants performed a modified Sternberg working memory task that contained salient and non-salient distractor items in the retention period. A high-density 128 channel EEG was recorded during the task. Event-related theta (4-7 Hz) synchronization was analyzed during working memory encoding (learning) and retention (distractor filtering) in a later time window (350-550 ms).

Results

Patients with schizophrenia showed weaker working memory performance and increased attentional distractibility compared to the control group: patients had significantly lower hit rates (p < 0.0001) and higher distractor-related commission error rates (p < 0.0001). Theta synchronization was modulated by condition (learning < distractor) in both groups but it was modulated by salience only in controls (salient distractor > non-salient distractor, p[patients] = 0.95, p[controls] < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that patients with schizophrenia show diminished cognitive control compared to controls in response to salient distractors. Difficulties in cognitive control allocation may contribute to the behavioral results observed in this study.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

working memoryschizophréniacognitive controlfrontal-midline theta
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S205
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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