COGNITIVE DISORDERS IN THE POSITIVE, NEGATIVE, AND DISORGANIZATION SYNDROMES OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

Recent factor-analytic studies have derived several trisyndromic model s for schizophrenia, all based on the positive, negative, and disorgan ization syndromes. The goal of this study was to examine cognitive dis orders in these three schizophrenic syndromes. The study group was com posed of 40 schizophrenic patients consecutively admitted to the hospi tal due to a recrudescence of their symptomatology. They were selected on the basis of a semistructured interview, diagnosed with DSM-III-R criteria, and evaluated with scales for positive and negative symptoms . Their cognitive disorders were assessed with a battery of neuropsych ological tests. The schizophrenic syndromes were weakly associated wit h cognitive performance through direct correlations and after correcti on for confounding variables. The disorganization and negative syndrom es were more strongly associated with cognitive disturbances than was the positive syndrome, and both were associated with disturbances of v isual-motor processes. Moreover, the disorganization syndrome was asso ciated with disturbances in language and verbal memory and in time-con trolled performance.