ATTENTIONAL PERFORMANCE IN PATIENTS WITH PSYCHOTIC AND NONPSYCHOTIC MAJOR DEPRESSION AND SCHIZOPHRENIA

Objective: The authors examined Continuous Performance Test scores of patients with major depression with or without psychosis and schizophr enia. Method: Patients with major depression with psychosis (N=13), ma jor depression without psychosis (N=14), and schizophrenia (N=15) and normal volunteers (N=14) completed the degraded-stimulus version of th e Continuous Performance Test. Patients were rated with the Hamilton D epression Rating Scale and measures of positive formal thought disorde r. Results. Continuous Performance Test scores of patients with major depression with psychosis and schizophrenia were significantly worse t han those of patients with major depression without psychosis and of n ormal volunteers. Positive formal thought disorder was correlated with performance on this test in patients with schizophrenia. Conclusions: These findings suggest that attentional impairment on the Continuous Performance Test is associated with psychosis in general and may be sp ecifically associated with positive formal thought disorder in patient s with schizophrenia.