AI Article Synopsis
- Schizophrenia patients exhibit significant memory impairments, especially in recalling autobiographical memories from their recent past compared to childhood.
- Research indicates that this decline in memory recall from recent years correlates closely with the onset of the illness.
- A study found that while schizophrenic patients produced fewer memories overall, they showed similar patterns in recency effects compared to controls, suggesting that their recent memory issues may be due to difficulties in encoding or acquiring new memories related to their condition.
Article Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia display numerous memory impairments. Examination of autobiographical memory distribution across the life span can constrain theories of how schizophrenia affects memory. Previously, schizophrenic patients were shown to produce fewer memories from early adulthood than from childhood or the recent past (A. Feinstein, T. E. Goldberg, B. Nowlin, & D. R. Weinberger, 1998), this temporal paucity corresponding with illness onset. The current study examined this issue further using a different (noncued) method. Age-matched schizophrenic patients (n = 21) and controls (n = 21) were to freely generate 50 episodes, after which they dated these memories. Patients generated fewer memories than did controls, especially from the recent decade. When the overall lower production of memories was controlled for, the groups displayed equivalent recency effects. It was concluded that patients' paucity of memories generated from the recent decade reflects encoding or acquisition problems, which may be associated with the illness period.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.17.3.402 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!