[Clinical and psychometric characteristics of cognitive and negative disorders in schizophrenia].

OBJECTIVE: To establish the characteristics of clinical manifestations and cognitive tests in patients with schizophrenia, with a predominance of cognitive and negative disorders.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined 76 patients, 66 in the main group, 10 in the comparison group, who were treated in Psychiatric Hospital No. 1 and Psychiatric Hospital No. 4 (Moscow). Clinical-psychopathological, psychometric and statistical methods were used. Features of cognitive functioning were studied using the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and the Edinburgh Cognitive and Behavioural Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Screen (ECAS). Emotional intelligence scores were assessed using the Ekman Face Emotion Recognition (EFER) test.

RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia showed dominance of one of 3 types of deficit symptoms: cognitive, emotional, and volitional. Cognitive functions were significantly reduced in patients with schizophrenia when compared with the comparison group (mean FAB score ( M ±SD) 13.44±2.97 in patients with schizophrenia vs. 16.10±1.70 in the comparison group; t =4.10; p <0.001). Cognitive functions were particularly reduced in patients with volitional deficit (mean EFER total score 42.40±9.0 in patients with volitional deficit vs. 47.21±633 in patients with cognitive deficit; t =2.12; p =0.039; mean FAB score 12.83±3.29 in patients with volitional deficit vs. 16.10±1.70 in the comparison group; t =4.24; p <0.001; mean ECAS score specific to ALS 78.80±9.07 in patients with volitional deficit vs. 84.50±6.71 in the comparison group; t =2.18; p =0.034).

CONCLUSION: The greatest contribution to the development of cognitive disorders in schizophrenia is made by dysfunction of frontal (especially) and temporal cortex. Executive functions, speech skills and verbal fluency are most severely damaged.