Effects of quetiapine on cognitive functions in schizophrenia

Comparison of the effects of quetiapine extended-release and quetiapine immediate-release on cognitive performance, sedation and patient satisfaction in patients with schizophrenia: A randomised, double-blind, crossover study (eXtRa)

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that quetiapine significantly improves cognitive function (Kivircik Akdede et al, 2005;Riedel et al, 2010). However, this is the first study to directly compare the two formulations in terms of effect on cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia.…”

“…Both formulations have a demonstrated efficacy and established tolerability profile (Peuskens, 2011) and have been shown to improve cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia (predominantly outpatients) (Kivircik Akdede et al, 2005) and in hospitalised patients with an acute schizophrenic episode (Riedel et al, 2010). However, previous studies have shown that quetiapine XR shows less daytime sedation than quetiapine IR in the first few hours post-dose, when given at a starting dose of 50 mg in the morning in healthy volunteers and patients with bipolar depression, though later time points (8-14 h post-dose) showed no treatment differences in sedation (Datto et al, 2009;Riesenberg et al, 2012).…”

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation over the Right Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Disrupts Digit Span Task Performance

“…Dysfunctions in digit span performance have been described in several psychiatric disorders such as depression and schizophrenia [2,3] . The impairment in schizophrenia may be partly reversible with second-generation antipsychotics [4] . Digit span performance has also been suggested to discriminate between early-and late-onset Alzheimer's disease [5] .…”

Acute Serotonin and Dopamine Depletion Improves Attentional Control: Findings from the Stroop Task

“…Although it has been extensively hypothesized that both dopamine (Abi-Dargham, 2004;Andreasen, 1994;Laurelle, 1998Laurelle, , 1999 and serotonin (Abi-Dargham et al, 1997;Kapur and Remington, 1996) play a critical role in the neurochemical underpinnings of schizophrenia and the action of antipsychotic drugs, the exact role of dopamine and serotonin on Stroop performance and attentional control is not fully characterized. It has been suggested that both dopamine and serotonin may be involved in the disturbances to attentional control observed in patients with schizophrenia (Cohen and Servan-Schreiber, 1992;Kivircik Akdede et al, 2005), although many of the findings are confounded by medication use and institutionalization of patients, making it difficult to know whether reported deficits are trait related, or are secondary to other factors. Therefore, in order to try and understand the role of dopamine and serotonin on attentional control, many researchers have attempted to modulate these neurotransmitter systems using pharmacological probes in healthy participants to then make inferences about the possible influence of these neurotransmitters on attentional control in schizophrenia.…”