A. Laurent et al., Executive/attentional performance and measures of schizotypy in patients with schizophrenia and in their nonpsychotic first-degree relatives, SCHIZOPHR R, 46(2-3), 2000, pp. 269-283
Previous studies of executive/attentional functions have found impairments
in nonpsychotic first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia. The
aims of this study were. (1) to replicate these findings by three laborator
y measures of attention/information processing - a continuous performance t
est (DS-CPT), a forced-choice span of apprehension task (SPAN), and a digit
symbol substitution test (DSST), and by a series of neuropsychological tes
ts sensitive to prefrontal cortical damage - Trail Making A and B, verbal f
luency (VFT), Stroop Color and Word Test (Stroop), and Wisconsin Card Sorti
ng Test (WCST); (2) to investigate whether such executive/attentional defic
its are associated with schizotypal traits assessed using the social anhedo
nia, physical anhedortia. perceptual aberration and magical ideation scales
(Chapman, L.J., Chapman, J.P., Raulin, M.L. 1976. Scales for physical and
social anhedonia. J. Abnorm. Psychol. 85, 374-382; Chapman, L.J., Chapman,
J.P., Raulin, IM.L., 1978. Body-image aberration in schizophrenia. J. Abnor
m. Psychol. 87, 399-407; Eckblad, M., Chapman, L.J., 1983. Magical ideation
as an indicator of schizotypy. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 51, 215-225).
In both patient and relative groups, performance was significantly poorer o
n the DSST, VFT and Trail B, and the reaction time on the SPAN was signific
antly longer. These neuropsychological impairments were present as much in
siblings as in parents of schizophrenic patients: age did not appear to can
cel differences between the relative and control groups. In the relative gr
oup, the four scores of schizotypy were at an intermediate level between th
ose of patient and control groups, and the social anhedonia and perceptual
aberration scores tended to be significantly different between the relative
and the control groups. Only two significant correlations were found betwe
en the neuropsychological performance and the measures of schizotypy. (C) 2
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