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Relative Sparing of Executive Functions in the Early Phase of Schizophrenia

Received December 2, 2003; revised March 24, 2004; accepted September 27, 2004. From the Ankara University School of Medicine, Psychiatry, Ankara, Turkey. Address correspondence to Dr. Atbasoglu, Ankara University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry, Dikimevi, Ankara Turkey 06580; aoglu{at}medicine.ankara.edu.tr (E-mail).

Findings about the impairment of executive functions in schizophrenia are not conclusive. The authors hypothesized that the severity of the impairments in the abilities that comprise EF might be different. Forty patients were assessed with a comprehensive battery that included four measures of executive functions and were compared with 60 healthy subjects. Set shifting and response inhibition showed no significant between-group differences. Mental flexibility and concept formation were significantly worse in patients, but the effect sizes were small. Some executive functions might be relatively spared, at least in the early phase of schizophrenia. Studies on individual executive functions may yield more replicable findings.

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