NEUROCOGNITIVE CORRELATES OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE SYNDROMES IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

Objective: To identify the neurocognitive correlates of positive and n egative schizophrenic syndromes using a battery of information-process ing measures as the principal method of evaluation. Method: Fifty-two treated, symptomatically stable, schizophrenic (DSM-III-R) patients an d 24 age-matched, healthy volunteers were administered a computerized cognitive test battery (COGLAB). The battery included measures of prea ttentional, attentional, conceptual, and psychomotor performance. The patients' psychopathology was rated with the positive and negative syn dromes scale (PANSS), which derived scores for positive symptoms, nega tive symptoms, general psychopathology, and insight. Results: Compared with controls, schizophrenic patients, as a group, showed significant deficits on all of the neurocognitive tasks. Impaired performance on the backward masking, span of apprehension, and Wisconsin card sorting tasks correlated significantly with negative symptoms (r = 0.27-0.40) , general psychopathology, (r = 0.29-0.42) and impaired insight (r = 0 .34-0.52), but no clear association was found between positive symptom scores and neurocognitive deficits. Conclusions: Schizophrenic patien ts with predominantly negative symptoms and impaired insight seem to e xhibit more severe neurocognitive deficits, which lends support to the evolving concept of schizophrenia subtypes and their distinctive neur obiological mechanisms.