THE ROLE OF NEUROCOGNITIVE DEFICITS IN UNDERSTANDING ADAPTIVE FUNCTIONING IN SEVERE PSYCHIATRIC-ILLNESS - COMMENTARY ON HAWKINS AND COOPER

THE PRESENTATION of Ms. E. by Hawkins and Cooper provides an excellent discussion of the diverse ways in which clinicians and clinical resea rchers are currently conceptualizing neurocognitive deficits within se vere psychiatric disorders. The thorough neuropsychological evaluation of this patient provided a wealth of information that was completely missed by the Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE; Folstein et al. 1975). As Hawkins and Cooper point out, the tendency of some clinicians to disco unt the role of neuropsychological deficiency in the face of adequate MMSE scores and evident psychiatric symptoms is not justified by the r elevant clinical research literature. Furthermore, recent developments in scientific conceptions of the role of neurocognitive deficits in t he more severe psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, schizoaff ective disorder, and bipolar mood disorder, deserve more attention in clinical practice.