Cognitive correlates of the negative, disorganized, and psychotic symptom dimensions of schizophrenia.

Knowledge of the relationship between specific cognitive abnormalities and the clinical symptoms of schizophrenia could give insight into the nature of their underlying pathophysiology. Composite scores were generated for negative, disorganized, and psychotic symptom ratings in 134 patients with schizophrenia (DSM-IV criteria). Partial correlations (each composite corrected for the others) were computed with neuropsychological measures. Negative symptoms were related to poor performance on tests of verbal learning and memory, verbal fluency, visual memory, and visual-motor sequencing. Disorganized symptoms were correlated with lower verbal IQ and poor concept attainment. Psychotic symptoms had no significant relationship with cognitive deficit.