Age of onset has been related to the severity of cognitive decline in learning, memory, attention and motor speed.

44 patients at their onset diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizophrenia form disorders performed neuropsychological testing based on Luria‘s methodology during 5-years follow-up. Assessment was done twice in acute state and twice in remission on the first and second years of observation and then annually in remission. The patients were assigned to subgroups within the onset: adult onset (n=33, 1st group mean age- 25, 33±5,64) and early onset (n=11, 2nd group, mean age-15, 61±2, 92).

At the onset patients of the 1st group presented deficit of the main cognitive functions (verbal and visual memory, gnosis, spatial motor skills, verbal and non-verbal thinking, attention, neurodynamics and executive functioning) during the first 2 years which corresponded to the worsening of clinical state over time. Later on these variables remained stable with further decline of visual memory and visual gnosis by the end of the follow-up.

Neurocognitive parameters of the 2nd group such as praxis, gnosis, visual-spatial recognition, verbal thinking and non-verbal thinking, verbal and visual memory, neurodynamics and executive functioning were considerably poor at the onset in comparison to the 1st group. Moreover, no dynamics has been revealed during follow- up period except overpatching of non-verbal thinking, the parameter which has significantly improved in five years outcome (p< 0, 05).

The following results indicate different courses of cognitive deterioration in the follow-up period in patients with various age of onset.