A preliminary study of memory functions in unaffected first-degree relatives of schizophrenia

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a neuropsychiatric disorder with etiologies caused by both genetic and environmental factors. However, very few studies have been done to examine the differential pattern of working memory dysfunction in individuals at risk for schizophrenia. The current study aimed to examine the different modalities of working memory performances in the first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia. Results showed that unaffected first-degree relatives characterized by high but not low schizotypal traits demonstrated significantly poorer performances in the verbal 2-back tasks, the immediate and delayed recall of logical memory compared to healthy controls. These preliminary findings suggest memory function impairment was more closely associated with schizotypal traits in unaffected first-degree relatives of schizophrenia patients. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.