Korean J Schizophr Res.  2012 Oct;15(2):66-72. 10.16946/kjsr.2012.15.2.66.

Working Memory Deficits in Ultra-High Risk for Psychosis and Schizophrenia

• Jeon IH
• Park JS
• Park JY
• Cho HH
• Koo SJ
• Lee E
• An SK
• Yoo SK

• KMID: 2288282
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.16946/kjsr.2012.15.2.66

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study was to investigate whether verbal and spatial working memory functions were impaired not only in patients with schizophrenia but also in people at ultra-high risk for first-episode psychosis.
METHODS
Twenty-five patients (M 13, F 12) with schizophrenia (SPR), 21 people at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR)(M 10, F 11) and 19 normal controls (NC)(M 10, F 9) were recruited. The working memory was assessed by using the verbal and spatial n-back test. The working memory load increased incrementally from the 0-back to the 3-back condition.
RESULTS
SPR performed significantly lower than NC and UHR in terms of hit rates of verbal and spatial n-back test. UHR subjects conducted significantly lower than NC and higher in trend-level than SPR in terms of hit rates of verbal and spatial n-back test. These differences were derived from the high working memory load (2-back and 3-back), not from the low working memory load (0-back and 1-back). There was no significant difference between the verbal and spatial n-back test across the three groups.
CONCLUSION
These findings suggest that verbal and spatial working memory dysfunction may be general rather than differential in terms of stimuli modality, and this working memory deficit may be an important trait factor in schizophrenia.

Keyword

Verbal; Spatial; Working memory; N-back test; Ultra-high risk for psychosis; Schizophrenia

MeSH Terms

Humans
Memory, Short-Term
Psychotic Disorders
Schizophrenia

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Verbal and spatial n-back task. A : Example trials of a verbal 2-back task. B : Example trials of a spatial 2-back task.

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