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The neuropsychology of schizophrenia: relations with clinical and neurobiological dimensions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

Rebecca Elliott  and
Barbara J. Sahakian
Rebecca Elliott
Affiliation:
Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
Barbara J. Sahakian*
Affiliation:
Departments of Experimental Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Cambridge
*
1 Address for correspondence: Dr Barbara J. Sahakian, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ.
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Extract

It is now beyond question that the symptoms observed in schizophrenia include a range of cognitive neuropsychological deficits that may be more enduring than psychotic symptoms (Cassens et al. 1990; Goldberg et al. 1993) Goldberg et al. (1993) found that a group of patients treated with clozapine whose psychotic symptoms improved significantly over a 15 month study period showed no improvement in cognitive impairments. He argued that the enduring cognitive deficits are responsible for failure of patients to rehabilitate socially even when psychotic symptoms are in remission. Clearly an understanding of neuropsychological deficits is Important from a clinical as well as a theoretical viewpoint. There is, however, still much debate about the nature of these deficits and how they related to the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia and also to the neurobiological substrate of this disorder.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 3 , May 1995 , pp. 581 - 594
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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