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Assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome in schizophrenia.
Authors:
Evans, J.J., Chua, S.E., McKenna, P.J. & Wilson, B.A.
Reference:
Psychological Medicine, 27, 635-646
Year of publication:
1997
CBU number:
3559
Abstract:
The performance of matched groups of 31 schizophrenic patients, 35 patientswith brain injuries and 26 healthy volunteers was examined on theBehavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (Wilson et al 1996), abattery of tests designed to assess the 'everyday' difficulties of patientswith the dysexecutive syndrome. The patients, as well as their relativesor carers, were also administered a questionnaire rating day-to-dayfailures of executive functioning. Compared to the healthy controls, boththe schizophrenic and brain injured patients showed impairment on most ofthe dysexecutive tests, and there were no significant differences betweenthe 2 patient groups. Significant impairment on some, but not all thetests continued to be found in a subgroup of 16 of the schizophrenicpatients who showed intact general intellectual functioning. Amongst the schizophrenic patient group there was evidence of a dissociation between executive impairment and memory impairment. Although there was a significant correlation between performance on the test battery and relatives rating of executive problems for the brain injured group, no such relationship existed for the schizophrenic group.