[Neurocognitive deficits in schizophrenia].

BACKGROUND

Patients with schizophrenia experience difficulties in a broad spectrum of neurocognitive domains.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A review of neuropsychological findings in schizophrenia and of cognitive remediation studies in schizophrenia is provided, based on relevant reports identified by a survey of the literature.

RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION

The most pronounced neurocognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia are in the areas of attention, memory and executive functions. There is some empirical evidence to the effect that specific cognitive functions can be improved through cognitive training programmes. There is, however, no evidence indicating that improved performance on specific neuropsychological tasks can be generalized to other tasks or areas.