Brief cognitive assessment instruments in schizophrenia and bipolar patients, and healthy control subjects: A comparison study between the Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool for Schizophrenia (B-CATS) and the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP)

Abstract

Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and psychosis is ubiquitous and acknowledged as a core feature of clinical expression, pathophysiology, and prediction of functioning. However, assessment of cognitive functioning is excessively time-consuming in routine practice, and brief cognitive instruments specific to psychosis would be of value. Two screening tools have recently been created to address this issue, i.e., the Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool for Schizophrenia (B-CATS) and the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP). The aim of this research was to examine the comparative validity of these two brief instruments in relation to a global cognitive score. 161 patients with psychosis (96 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia and 65 patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder) and 76 healthy control subjects were tested with both instruments to examine their concurrent validity relative to a more comprehensive neuropsychological assessment battery. Scores from the B-CATS and the SCIP were highly correlated in the three diagnostic groups, and both scales showed good to excellent concurrent validity relative to a Global Cognitive Composite Score (GCCS) derived from the more comprehensive examination. The SCIP-S showed better predictive value of global cognitive impairment than the B-CATS. Partial and semi-partial correlations showed slightly higher percentages of both shared and unique variance between the SCIP-S and the GCCS than between the B-CATS and the GCCS. Brief instruments for assessing cognition in schizophrenia and bipolar disorders, such as the SCIP-S and B-CATS, seem to be reliable and promising tools for use in routine clinical practice.

Processing speed impairment in schizophrenia is mediated by white matter integrity

“…Larger sample sizes will likely be needed to more accurately determine the extent to which specific cognitive domains are related to white matter pathology in schizophrenia. A Second limitation is that the SCIP, while a very good approximate of overall cognitive functioning, is not a replacement for a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment (Cuesta et al 2011). It’s possible that other cognitive domains, in addition to processing speed, might have been linked to white matter integrity had we used a more extensive battery.…”

Unwell in hospital but not incapable: cross-sectional study on the dissociation of decision-making capacity for treatment and research in in-patients with schizophrenia and related psychoses

“… 29 These tests were selected for brevity of assessment and to focus on deficits in verbal and working memory present in those with schizophrenia and related psychoses. 30 , 31 …”

Introspective and Neurophysiological Measures of Mind Wandering in Schizophrenia

“…The Spanish version of the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP-S 58 ) was employed to measure cognitive impairment. The SCIP-S is a brief screening tool designed to assess cognition in clinical samples and has demonstrated reliability and concurrent validity with extensive neuropsychological batteries 59 . The SCIP-S is composed of five subtests and can be completed with pencil and paper in approximately 15 minutes.…”