The course of cognitive deficits in early psychosis

What is it about?

Impairments in cognitive skills such as memory, attention and problem solving are common in individuals experiencing a first-episode of psychosis. However, it is not definitely known how these impairments in cognition change over time after the onset of psychotic symptoms, whether they deteriorate or remain the same. This research investigated the longitudinal course of cognitive deficits four years after a first-episode of psychosis using the current gold standard battery for measuring cognition in schizophrenia, the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery. We show that most areas of cognition remain stable over the four years (working memory, attention, visual learning, reasoning & problem solving and social cognition). However, verbal learning and two measures of processing speed had marked poorer trajectory over four years after the onset of psychosis.

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Why is it important?

Our findings identify two areas of cognition, verbal learning and processing speed, to have reduced performance four years after the onset of psychosis. This may be due to the presence of psychotic symptoms or other factors that typically co-occur with the onset of psychotic disorders such as social isolation, lack of employment or education. It is important to identify cognitive skills which may be further affected by the onset of psychosis, as early targeted therapy could reduce further deterioration in these cognitive abilities. .

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