Cognitive performance was assessed in 107 psychiatric patients whose age
exceeded 59 years and who did not carry the diagnosis of organic mental
syndrome. In this sample, tardive dyskinesia (TD) was associated with
greater impairment in each of the seven cognitive domains assessed. These
data do not address the etiology of TD but raise questions regarding the
use of antipsychotics in young patients with cognitive impairment. Insofar
as TD is an expression of basal ganglia dysfunction, these data also
emphasize the critical role of relatively caudal brain structures in
cognition and emotional expression.Abstract Teaser