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.