Neuropsychological impairments in neuroleptic-responder vs. -nonresponder schizophrenic patients and healthy volunteers.

To determine whether two groups of schizophrenic patients representing the two extremes of the neuroleptic response-spectrum (consistent responders vs. consistent nonresponders) differ with respect to their neuropsychological profile. Neuroleptic-responder (R; n=36) and -nonresponder (NR; n=39) schizophrenic patients were recruited according to a priori defined criteria of responsiveness to typical neuroleptics. Seven neuropsychological domains were assessed and compared between groups: attention-vigilance, abstraction-flexibility, spatial organization, visual-motor processing, visual memory, verbal abilities, and verbal memory and learning. All measures were standardized using the scores of 36 healthy volunteers. NR schizophrenic patients performed worse in all neuropsychological domains compared to normal controls and R schizophrenic patients. However, only performances on visual memory, verbal abilities, and verbal memory and learning were significantly poorer in NR compared to R patients. Only the latter domain significantly differentiated NR patients from the other two groups. R patients performed at an intermediate level in all domains. This report of differences in neuropsychological profile between neuroleptic-responder and -nonresponder schizophrenic patients adds to the growing evidence supporting the value of distinguishing schizophrenic patients on the basis of their therapeutic response to neuroleptics.