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Differential impairment of working memory performance in first-degree relatives of individuals with schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Aaron R. Kent ,
Allison M. Fox ,
Patricia T. Michie  and
Assen V. Jablensky
Aaron R. Kent*
Affiliation:
Centre for Clinical Research in Neuropsychiatry/School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, The University of Western Australia, Mt Claremont, Western Australia School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders (NISAD), Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
Allison M. Fox
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders (NISAD), Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
Patricia T. Michie
Affiliation:
Centre for Clinical Research in Neuropsychiatry/School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, The University of Western Australia, Mt Claremont, Western Australia School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia Neuroscience Institute of Schizophrenia and Allied Disorders (NISAD), Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia
Assen V. Jablensky
Affiliation:
Centre for Clinical Research in Neuropsychiatry/School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, The University of Western Australia, Mt Claremont, Western Australia
*
Aaron Kent, Centre for Clinical Research in Neuropsychiatry, Gascoyne House Graylands Hospital, Private Mail Bag no. 1, Mt Claremont 6010, Australia. Tel: + 61 (8) 9347 6429; Fax: + 61 (8) 9384 5128; E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Background:

Numerous studies have reported neuropsychological impairment in schizophrenia and increasing evidence suggests that individuals with schizophrenia or schizophrenia spectrum disorders and their unaffected first-degree family members exhibit similar deficits in some neuropsychological domains. Substantial modifications to the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS) have resulted in more sensitive and reliable indicators of various aspects of memory functioning in the WMS-III, which enables generation of auditory, visual and working memory indices.

Objective:

The aim of the present study was to examine the memory profile of individuals with schizophrenia or schizophrenia spectrum disorder (n = 19), their unaffected first-degree family members (n = 11), and healthy controls (n = 9).

Methods:

The study involved neuropsychological testing, including the immediate and working memory subtests of the WMS-III, utilizing both auditory and visual domains. Symptom assessment was performed using the Schedules for Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry (SCAN), version 2.0. Two multivariate analyses of covariance (mancova) were conducted: (i) comparing patients, relatives and controls; and (ii) comparing relatives and controls only.

Results:

The first analysis indicated that the patient group obtained significantly lower index scores than both relatives and controls on all three indices. The second analysis indicated that the performance of relatives was significantly lower than controls on the working memory index, although there were no significant differences on the auditory and visual immediate index scores.

Conclusions:

The differential impairment in working memory performance in clinically asymptomatic family members suggests that the WMS-III working memory index score may be a potential phenotypic marker of schizophrenia.

Keywords

first-degree relativesschizophreniaWMS-IIIworking memory
Type
Original Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , June 2004 , pp. 149 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 Blackwell Munksgaard

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