Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T21:57:42.445Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Comparative effects of schizophrenia and temporal lobe epilepsy on memory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 1998

LARRY J. SEIDMAN ,
WILLIAM S. STONE ,
ROSALIND JONES ,
ROBERT H. HARRISON  and
ALLAN F. MIRSKY
LARRY J. SEIDMAN
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology Laboratory, Harvard Institute of Psychiatric Epidemiology and Genetics, and Commonwealth Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
WILLIAM S. STONE
Affiliation:
Neuropsychology Laboratory and Commonwealth Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
ROSALIND JONES
Affiliation:
Private practice, Baltimore, MD, USA
ROBERT H. HARRISON
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
ALLAN F. MIRSKY
Affiliation:
Section on Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Laboratory of Psychology and Psychopathology, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The goal of this study was to further characterize episodic memory functioning in schizophrenia. This study compared verbal and visual learning and memory performance in (1) patients with schizophrenia (N = 35), (2) patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE; N = 30), and (3) normal controls (N = 25). Results indicated significant memory impairments in patients with schizophrenia and TLE. “Savings” score measures of memory decay showed that the loss of information in schizophrenia and TLE was approximately equal, and quantitatively mild compared to that found in most neurologic groups with memory disorders. The severe difficulty shown by the schizophrenia group on a task of incidental recall suggested that the absence of instructional set added to a vulnerability to memory deficit. In contrast, relatively mildly impaired performance on paired associate learning suggested that patients with schizophrenia benefited from retrieval cues, multiple trials, and short (nonsupraspan) informational loads. Because patients with schizophrenia consisted of a relatively nonchronic sample with a mean IQ of 99.7, their memory disorder could not be attributed to schizophrenic dementia, nor was it accounted for by other potential confounds. Patients with schizophrenia, even those relatively early in the course of illness, have a mild episodic memory disorder. (JINS, 1998, 4, 342–352.)

Keywords

SchizophreniaEpilepsyMemoryAttentionNeuropsychology
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , July 1998 , pp. 342 - 352
Copyright
© 1998 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)