NEUROPSYCHOLOGY OF SCHIZOPHRENIA

Research of neuropsychological deficits found in schizophrenic patient s has advanced considerably in the last two decades. However, the actu al condition of neuropsychology does not allow us to obtain a consiste nt, valid and differential neuropsychological profile of this illness. The pattern detected most frequently in the context of a clinic judge ment includes an inespecific mnesic deficit, attentional disturbances that can manifest themselves as a low ability to process the external stimuli or as an incapacity to identify and inhibit the irrelevant sti muli, apraxic disfunctions and impairment in executive or ''prefrontal '' functions, which include poor ability to make plans, social judgeme nt altered, lack of insight and anhedonia. On the other hand, the Wisc onsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the verbal fluency task with phonet ic key (FAS), are probably the most useful neuropsychological tests wi th a high sensibility to detect the cognitive impairment present in sc hizophrenic patients.