CONTEXT MEMORY IN SCHIZOAFFECTIVE AND SCHIZOPHRENIC DISORDERS

DSM IV preserves the boundary between schizoaffective disorder and sch izophrenia, yet validation of the former condition remains incomplete. The prevalent view that schizoaffective disorder is a less serious co ndition than schizophrenia suggests that cognitive disturbance might b e less severe and possibly different from that found in schizophrenia. We investigated a well-characterized cognitive difficulty in schizoph renia, the relative lack of gain in verbal recall when context is incr eased, in samples of patients and normal controls. Subjects with schiz ophrenia (n=19) were individually matched for age, sex, and recall per formance with patients diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder (n = 19 ) and major depression (n = 19); and with normal controls (n=19). Pati ents were also matched on duration of illness. The results indicate th at schizophrenic subjects attain smaller gains in recall when context is increased compared to depressed and normal controls, a finding cons istent with previous results. Schizophrenic and schizoaffective subjec ts, however, did not differ in recall gain on this task. We conclude t hat schizoaffective subjects cannot be distinguished from schizophreni c subjects on this cognitive feature. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.