Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are two distinct categories of mental disorders in the DSM-IV. However, it is sometimes difficult to make a differential diagnosis between the two because of the overlapping symptoms. One of the approaches for classification of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder is by means of information processing models, as patients with schizophrenia and possibly those wit...

Behavioral and neuropsychological data suggest that multiple systems are involved in category-learning. In this paper, the existence and the development of multiple modes of learning of a rule-based category structure was examined, and features of different learning processes were identified. Data were obtained in a cross-sectional study by Raijmakers et al. [Raijmakers, M. E. J., Dolan, C. V.,...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine prospective memory (PM) and its socio-demographic, clinical, and neurocognitive correlates in first episode schizophrenia (FES). METHODS Fifty-one FES patients and 42 healthy controls formed the study sample. Time- and event-based PM (TBPM and EBPM) performance were measured with the Chinese version of the Cambridge Prospective Memory Test (C-CAM...

BACKGROUND Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is a well-recognized complication of cardiac and noncardiac surgery. However, contradictory results concerning postoperative mental function have been reported. The aim is to determine the effect of anesthetic techniques (general or spinal) on cognitive functions using more sensitive neuropsychological tests in patients undergoing urological...

This study examined the effects of a 12-week physical activity intervention on the motor skill proficiency and executive function of 22 boys (aged 9.08 ± 1.75 years) with autism spectrum disorder. In Phase I of the 12 weeks, 11 boys with autism spectrum disorder (Group A) received the intervention, whereas the other 11 boys with autism spectrum disorder (Group B) did not (true control, no inter...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was investigating and comparing two components of executive functioning in children with high function autism with normal children. METHODS This study was correlation descriptive (causal-comparative). There were two groups, one consisted of 15 participants of children with high function autism disorder (Intelligence quotient [IQ]>80) and the other consisted of ...

AIMS To compare the performance of schizophrenia, mania and well control groups on tests sensitive to impaired executive ability, and to assess the within-group stability of these measures across the acute and subacute phases of psychoses. METHOD Recently admitted patients with schizophrenia (n = 36), mania (n = 18) and a well control group (n = 20) were assessed on two occasions separated by...

OBJECTIVE Using a sample of sibling pairs discordant for psychosis, the authors attempted to replicate the findings of previous studies suggesting that the functional genetic polymorphism Val158Met in the catechol O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene influences prefrontal cognitive function and increases the risk for schizophrenia. METHOD Eighty-nine sibling pairs discordant for psychosis were gen...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to assess executive functions of obese individuals with binge eating disorder. METHOD Thirty-eight obese individuals with binge eating disorder were compared to thirty-eight obese controls without binge eating disorder in terms of their executive functions. All individuals were assessed using the following instruments: Digit Span, Trail Making Tests A and B...

OBJECTIVE Neurocognitive deficits associated with schizophrenia include difficulties with working memory, executive function, sustained attention spans, abstract thinking and planning ability. This study evaluated the effectiveness of scaffolding technique in improving the neurocognitive deficits of schizophrenics. METHODS Thirty-five schizophrenic male patients were recruited for this study ...