Stability of cognitive impairment in chronic schizophrenia over brief and intermediate re-test intervals
Robert H. Pietrzak
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Peter J. Snyder
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Office of Research Administration, Rhode Island Hospital, Aldrich Building, Suite 132, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI, 02903, USA.Search for more papers by this authorColleen E. Jackson
Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJames Olver
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne School of Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorTrevor Norman
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne School of Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorDanijela Piskulic
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne School of Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorPaul Maruff
Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
CogState, Ltd., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorRobert H. Pietrzak
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Peter J. Snyder
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Office of Research Administration, Rhode Island Hospital, Aldrich Building, Suite 132, 593 Eddy Street, Providence, RI, 02903, USA.Search for more papers by this authorColleen E. Jackson
Department of Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, USA
Search for more papers by this authorJames Olver
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne School of Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorTrevor Norman
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne School of Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorDanijela Piskulic
Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne School of Medicine, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorPaul Maruff
Centre for Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
CogState, Ltd., Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Objective
This study examined between- and within-subject stability of cognitive performance in individuals with chronic schizophrenia.
Methods
Thirty individuals with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls matched by age, sex, education, and estimated IQ underwent repeated cognitive assessments at baseline and 30 days using computerized tests of psychomotor function, visual attention/information processing, non-verbal learning, and executive function.
Results
Compared to healthy controls, individuals with schizophrenia scored lower on all cognitive measures and demonstrated greater variability in cognitive performance. Within-subject variability in cognitive performance in both the schizophrenia and healthy control groups remained stable at brief (i.e., hours) and intermediate (i.e., one month) assessments.
Conclusions
These results demonstrate the stability of between- and within-subject variability in cognitive performance in schizophrenia, and suggest that variability in cognitive performance may reflect an inherent characteristic of the disorder, rather than differences in test–retest reliability/error of cognitive measures. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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