TY - JOUR
T1 - Deficit in decision making in catatonic schizophrenia
T2 - An exploratory study
AU - Bark, Raiko
AU - Dieckmann, Silvia
AU - Bogerts, Bernhard
AU - Northoff, Georg
PY - 2005/4/15
Y1 - 2005/4/15
N2 - Catatonic schizophrenia can be distinguished from paranoid schizophrenia by prominent behavioral and motor anomalies. As demonstrated in recent imaging studies, behavioral symptoms may be related to dysfunction in the ventral prefrontal cortex. However, the neuropsychological correlates of ventral prefrontal cortical dysfunction remain unclear. In an exploratory study, we investigated eight patients with catatonic schizophrenia and compared them with 19 patients with paranoid schizophrenia and 26 healthy subjects. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Object Alternation Task (OAT) served as measures of ventral prefrontal cortical function. In addition, other prefrontal cortical tests such as a visual working memory task, a Go-NoGo task, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, as well as attentional tasks, were included in the test battery. Catatonic patients showed significant deficits in the IGT characterized by an inability to shift from the initial preference for high-risk cards to a more advantageous strategy with low-risk cards. Moreover, catatonic patients showed significant deficits in the OAT. In conclusion, our preliminary results suggest a specific deficit in catatonic schizophrenia in those neuropsychological measures that are associated with ventral prefrontal cortical function.
AB - Catatonic schizophrenia can be distinguished from paranoid schizophrenia by prominent behavioral and motor anomalies. As demonstrated in recent imaging studies, behavioral symptoms may be related to dysfunction in the ventral prefrontal cortex. However, the neuropsychological correlates of ventral prefrontal cortical dysfunction remain unclear. In an exploratory study, we investigated eight patients with catatonic schizophrenia and compared them with 19 patients with paranoid schizophrenia and 26 healthy subjects. The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Object Alternation Task (OAT) served as measures of ventral prefrontal cortical function. In addition, other prefrontal cortical tests such as a visual working memory task, a Go-NoGo task, and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, as well as attentional tasks, were included in the test battery. Catatonic patients showed significant deficits in the IGT characterized by an inability to shift from the initial preference for high-risk cards to a more advantageous strategy with low-risk cards. Moreover, catatonic patients showed significant deficits in the OAT. In conclusion, our preliminary results suggest a specific deficit in catatonic schizophrenia in those neuropsychological measures that are associated with ventral prefrontal cortical function.
KW - Behavioral anomalies
KW - Catatonia
KW - Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
KW - Iowa gambling task
KW - Ventral prefrontal cortex
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U2 - 10.1016/j.psychres.2004.04.013
DO - 10.1016/j.psychres.2004.04.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 15840414
AN - SCOPUS:17444391716
SN - 0165-1781
VL - 134
SP - 131
EP - 141
JO - Psychiatry Research
JF - Psychiatry Research
IS - 2
ER -