Relationship between subjective cognitive symptoms and frontal executive abilities in chronic schizophrenic outpatients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between executive abilities and subjective basic symptoms in a group of outpatients with schizophrenia. Fifty patients underwent a neuropsychological testing battery. Basic symptoms were assessed using the Frankfurt Complaint Questionnaire. Using Pearson's product-moment correlations or partial correlations calculated by regression procedure, cognitive performance was not related to subjective experience. When patients were divided into two groups, with and without 'hypofrontality', as assessed by the neuropsychological testing, we did not find any significant difference in basic symptoms rating. Thus, it is likely that basic symptoms and neurocognitive functioning are unrelated in schizophrenic outpatients, probably because the expression of subjective experience and cognitive impairment is less pronounced than in inpatients. Also, subjective self-perceived basic symptoms and neurocognitive functioning may be unrelated, because these concepts are based on different theoretical backgrounds. Copyright 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel