Intellectual and cognitive dysfunctions in children who present psychotic-like experiences and other antecedents of schizophrenia (Conference Abstract)

We have proposed that children who present psychotic-like experiences as part of a triad of antecedents of schizophrenia (including also a speech and/ or motor developmental delay or abnormality, and a social, emotional, or behavioural problem) may experience elevated risk for the development of schizophrenia (Laurens et al. 2007). While only longitudinal follow-up will establish the degree to which the triad of antecedents predicts later schizophrenia, the present study examined whether children experiencing the triad also present intellectual and cognitive deficits that characterise first-episode patients with schizophrenia and ‘‘high-risk’’ (prodromal) youth. Questionnaire data from 5 158 children aged 9–12 years and 1 133 of their primary caregivers demonstrated that 9% of children (12% of boys, 6% of girls) present the triad of antecedents. Fifty-eight children (21 presenting the antecedent triad and 37 control children without the antecedents) subsequently completed standardised assessments of IQ (WASI), scholastic achievement (reading, spelling, numerical operations; WIAT), memory (verbal, visual, and working memory; WRAML2) and executive function (verbal fluency, and inhibition; D-KEFS). Children presenting the antecedent triad experienced moderate deficits in cognitive function (mean effect size 0.65, range 0.56 to 0.77) relative to control children, with significant performance decrements observed in all domains (excepting a non-significant trend in visual memory performance). Children who present antecedents of schizophrenia demonstrate moderate intellectual and cognitive impairments that are comparable to those observed in prodromal youth (mean effect size ;0.8), but less marked than deficits apparent in first-episode patients (mean effect sizes;1.1–1.8). Children experiencing the antecedents of schizophrenia might represent a ‘‘high-risk’’ population who may benefit from preventive interventions for schizophrenia. Acknowledgements: NIHR Career Development Fellowship, NARSAD Young Investigator Award, BMA Margaret Temple Award, BIAL Foundation