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AmJCaseRep

Neuropsychological assessment of executive dysfunction in men with schizophrenia

Łukasz Okruszek, Aleksandra Rutkowska

Med Sci Tech 2013; 54:60-64

DOI: 10.12659/MST.889125

Available online: 2013-05-06

Published: 2013-05-06


Background: There is emerging evidence of frontal dysfunction in people with schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to compare the executive functioning of men with schizophrenia and healthy men.
Material and Methods: A sample of 60 men participated in the study. Results of men with schizophrenia (n=30) and healthy men (n=30) were collected. Executive functions were assessed with Stroop Task, Tower of London Task, Verbal Fluency tasks, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.
Results: Significant differences were found between controls and men with schizophrenia in all of the analyzed test scores (Stroop errors p<0.01; ToL moves p<0.001; ToL errors p<0.001; Phonetic fluency p<0.05; Semantic fluency p<0.01; WCST categories p<0.001; and WCST preservative errors p<0.001).
Conclusions: The results of this study confirmed that each of the functions that are associated with executive system may be considered as deficient in men with schizophrenia. These findings are in line with the evidence of frontal dysfunction in schizophrenia.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, executive functions, Frontal Lobe



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