The Relationship between Attention/Vigilance and Symptom Severity in Schizophrenic Patients

OBJECTIVE In schizophrenia, neurocognitive functions are one to two standard deviations below the normal controls and these deficits have a significant relationship with overall functioning and poor outcome. According to this fact, it is important to investigate the factors that effect neurocognition in schizophrenic patients. This study was carried out to demonstrate the relationship between attention/vigilance and some demographic and clinical variables in Iranian schizophrenic patients. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study; the participants were 60 Iranian schizophrenic patients. They were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, and the Continuous Performance Test. RESULTS No significant relationship was found between gender, age, education, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores and CPS scores. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that contrary to some domains of cognitive functions, in schizophrenia, attention/vigilance is not influenced by severity of symptoms.