The evolution of cognitive functioning in adolescents with early onset psychosis

Abstract

Introduction

Cognitive deficits (executive functions, verbal and spatial learning and memory, visual processing and attention) are a fundamental trait of schizophrenia.

Objective

The main objective of this study is to compare the cognitive functioning in psychotic adolescents at the psychosis onset and after one year, using psychological tests.

Methods

This is a longitudinal study, during a period of two years and a half. Twenty-eight patients with first psychotic episode agreed to participate to this study and were assessed during their hospitalization in a university clinic for child and adolescent psychiatry in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The diagnosis was based on DSM-IV criteria. All the patients were initially assessed for intelligence level using Raven Test and those with mental retardation were excluded. After one year, sixteen adolescents from the initial group were reassessed. The cognitive functioning was assessed with Trail Making A and B, verbal fluency tasks, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. The results from patients group were compared with those from healthy controls.

Results

The results show weaker global cognitive performance from adolescents with early onset psychosis, initially and at one-year evaluation, than the healthy adolescents from the control group.

Conclusions

This results are consistent with those of previous studies. The adolescents with early onset psychosis show multiple cognitive impairments initially and one year after the psychosis onset.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.