Clinical utility of the dual n-back task in schizophrenia: A functional imaging approach.

The neural correlate of working memory (WM) impairment in schizophrenia is key to the understanding of the cognitive deficits observed in this disorder. We sought to determine the clinical validity of the dual version n-back paradigm in patients with schizophrenia, and whether schizophrenia patients exhibit altered brain activation patterns compared with healthy controls in this dual version WM measure using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patients with schizophrenia (n = 20) and healthy controls (n = 24) performed the dual n-back task that consists of both visuospatial and auditory-verbal n-back streams, in which participants were required to monitor and update the contents from these two different inputs simultaneously.

Heritability estimates of spatial working memory and set-shifting in a healthy Chinese twin sample: A preliminary study.

Impairments in spatial working memory (SWM) and set-shifting abilities have both been consistently observed in individuals with schizophrenia and are considered to be potential endophenotypes of this illness. However, an endophenotype needs to fulfill a set of stringent criteria, including heritability. This study examined the heritability of these two functions in a healthy Chinese twin sample.