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Abstract
Background: Psychosis is marked by heterogeneity, which complicates effective treatment. Aims: Subgroups of first-episode psychosis could be found by identifying neuropsychological correlates of psychiatric symptoms. Methods: Ninety-two outpatients with first-episode psychosis were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Results: Factor analysis of PANSS revealed five symptom dimensions. Negative symptoms were correlated with widespread neuropsychological dysfunction. Disorganization symptoms were correlated with more focused deficits in executive function, attention and processing speed implicating dysfunction in frontal–subcortical circuits. Asocial, positive and affective symptoms were not associated with cognition. Conclusions: In first-episode psychosis, neuropsychological deficits are associated with negative and disorganization symptom dimensions, which appear to be marked by different cognitive profiles. These findings have implications for improving symptom-specific treatment.
Acknowledgements—The authors gratefully acknowledge the work of HUCH Jorvi Hospital personnel for collecting the patient data.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.