Temperamental profiles may aid cognitive therapy planning in schizophrenia

Temperamental profiles may aid cognitive therapy planning in schizophrenia


MedWire News: Temperamental profiles have a different impact on executive function in schizophrenia patients from that seen in healthy individuals and may have prognostic value in planning cognitive enhancement therapy, say Canadian researchers.
There is evidence that symptoms combined with executive dysfunction and personality traits affect the social outcomes of schizophrenia patients, and it has been suggested that there may be underlying pathophysiological mechanisms linking personality to symptoms and cognition.
To examine the influence of personality traits on executive function in schizophrenia, Franços Guillem and colleagues from the University of Montreal in Quebec studied 44 schizophrenia patients and 22 healthy controls, administering the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and, to assess executive function, the Auditory Digit Span and the Wickens' test.
The average age of the patients was 27.3 years and the healthy controls were matched in terms of age, gender, and parental socioeconomic status, the researchers note in the journal Schizophrenia Research.
Patients scored significantly lower than controls on the TCI novelty seeking score, and there were significant differences in terms of cognitive function between high- and low-scoring patients, but not between high- and low-scoring controls.
The team also found that there was a significant difference in cognitive function between high- and low-scoring controls on the TCI harm avoidance scale, but not between high- and low-scoring patients, and that novelty seeking has an impact on the effect of harm avoidance.
Both patients and controls who scored higher on the TCI reward dependence scale had significantly higher parental socioeconomic status than those with low scores. There were no significant interactions between reward dependence and cognitive function.
Finally, patients scored lower than controls on the TCI persistence scale, and there were significant cognitive function differences between high- and low-scoring controls, but not high- and low-scoring patients.
"In summary, the present study suggests that the temperamental profile of schizophrenia patients may well be of important prognostic value in the planning of cognitive enhancement therapy," the team writes.