Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Yoo, H. J. Articles by Lee, J. G. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Yoo, H. J. Articles by Lee, J. G. Epilepsy Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders

Compromised Memory Function in Schizophrenia and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Received August 5, 2004; revised August 16, 2005; accepted August 19, 2005. From the Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. Address correspondence to Dr. Yoo, Department of Psychiatry, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, 388-1, Pungnap-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, Korea; junhkl{at}hanafos.com (E-mail).

The purpose of this study was to investigate compromised memory function of schizophrenia patients in comparison with temporal lobe epilepsy patients, whose memory impairments result from a clear lesion. The authors hypothesized that schizophrenia patients would show poorer immediate and delayed recall performances in verbal and visual memory tasks. The study sample consisted of a healthy comparison group of 30 subjects and three patient groups comprising 76 schizophrenia patients, 93 left temporal lobe epilepsy patients, and 72 right temporal lobe epilepsy patients. The authors assessed immediate recall, delayed recall, and delayed retention. Tasks were subdivided into two categories (easy and difficult), and then patient memory dysfunction was compared among the memory tests. The authors observed material-specific memory impairment, where the left temporal lobe epilepsy group showed severe verbal memory impairment and the right temporal lobe epilepsy group showed severe visual memory impairment. A moderate impairment was found in immediate and delayed verbal memory in schizophrenia patients, and the impairment of visual memory was amplified with delayed recall. Such a result can be interpreted not only as a generalized cognitive deficit, but also as an integrative dysfunction involving the mesial temporal and frontal lobes in the left and right hemispheres, whereby the lesion site cannot be determined selectively. Our results show that the selection of a memory task that cannot be influenced by verbal mediation is very important for analyzing memory dysfunction in schizophrenia patients.

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2006 American Neuropsychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us