Neurocognitive deficit in patients with schizophrenia

Abstract

Neurocognitive deficit is considered to be the third key group of symptoms in schizophrenia. A series of studies concerning various aspects of neurocognitive impairments was conducted at the First Psychosis Episode Clinic, Department of Extrahospital Psychiatry and Organization of Psychiatric Care, Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry over 10 years (2001—2010). In patients with varying schizophrenia progression, neurocognitive functions were shown to have both the approximate form of the cognitive profile (which serves to consider the disease in terms of a unified pathogenetic mechanism) and great differences primarily in the degree of involvement of brain structures into the pathological process, as well as neurocognitive deficit changes in the course of the disease. A study of the impact of therapy with atypical antipsychotics on the time course of changes in neurocognitive impairments in patients with the first psychotic episodes revealed a number of characteristic features of these drugs, which enables one to tell that the spectrum of their psychotropic activity is different. However, therapy for cognitive impairments cannot be limited only by the use of drugs: of great importance in these patients are psychosocial therapeutic and rehabilitation measures that are aimed not only at reducing their symptoms, but also at enhancing social competence in the patient.

Keywords

• schizophrenia
• first psychotic episode
• neurocognitive deficit