Deficient maturation of aspects of attention and executive functions in early onset schizophrenia

Abstract

Word count of the Abstract: 220Word count of the text body: 5819 including the revised Appendix A 3 AbstractThe few existing long-term, neuropsychological follow-up studies of early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) patients have reported relative stability in some cognitive functions but abnormal developmental trajectories in verbal memory, set shifting, aspects of attention, and speed of information processing throughout late adolescence into early adulthood. The current 5-year followup study compared the development of specific cognitive functions in EOS patients (N=17) from the time of first-episode to chronic phase with that of healthy controls (N=38) and secondarily to patients with other early-onset, non-organic, non-affective psychoses (EOP) (N=11). Speed of processing of executive functions, set shifting, and attention improved significantly in the healthy controls and reflected continuous functional maturation during late adolescence and early adulthood. The developmental progression of attention and set shifting but not speed of processing of executive functions was significantly subnormal in EOS patients. Other specific cognitive functions that had attained functional maturity in the healthy controls around the time of the baseline assessment showed normal development in EOS patients during the follow-up period, indicating stable cognitive deficits. These results suggest post-onset developmental deficits in two out of the three aspects of attention and executive functions that have protracted maturational trajectories and that overlap the age of onset of EOS. No significant difference in the development of any specific cognitive function was found between the EOS and EOP group.

Executive attention impairment in adolescents with schizophrenia who have used cannabis

“…In HC, we found that with increasing age, reaction time decreased across all networks, indicating improved performance in healthy subjects. These data, along with the existing literature (Fjell et al, 2012; Jepsen et al, 2010; Konrad et al, 2005), suggest a protracted developmental trajectory for attentional networks during adolescence.…”

Early detection and intervention of psychosis in children and adolescents: urgent need for studies

“…They can lead to delays in the maturation of neuropsychological functions in affected children and adolescents and longterm neuropsychological deficits [1,2] as well as significant impairments in psychosocial functioning [3]. This makes schizophrenia one of the six leading causes of years lived with disability [4].…”

Do clinical characteristics predict the cognitive course in early‐onset schizophrenia‐spectrum disorders?

“…The trajectories of cognitive deficits over the course of the disease are being debated, and one question has been whether schizophrenia involves neurodegeneration (Rund, ). To date, most longitudinal studies indicate a stable cognitive course in AOS (Bora, ; Rund et al., ), with a growing body of research suggesting a similar stability in EOS (Bombin et al., ; Frangou, Hadjulis, & Vourdas, ; Jepsen, Fagerlund, Pagsberg, Christensen, Nordentoft, et al., ; Juuhl‐Langseth, Holmen, Thormodsen, Oie, & Rund, ; Mayoral et al., ; Oie, Sundet, & Rund, ). However, the course of global cognition over the first years, as measured in composite scores, has yet to be reported in EOS.…”