Effects of Antipsychotic Drugs on Memory and Attention in Schizophrenia

Review

Psychiatry Investigation 2006;3(1):55-65.

Junghee Lee, PhD; and Sohee Park, PhD

Department of Psychology and the Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt University, TN, USA

Abstract

<p class="MsoPlainText" style="word-spacing: 1; line-height: 150%; margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left"><font face="HY중고딕" size="2">Neurocognitive deficits are cardinal features of schizophrenia, and are important predictors of functional outcome. In this article, we focus on the effects of antipsychotic drug treatment on two key cognitive symptoms, those of attention and memory. A review of the relevant literature was conducted in order to evaluate the efficacy of typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs on the cognitive impairments exhibited by schizophrenic patients. Our review suggests that atypical antipsychotic drugs more effectively ameliorate cognitive impairments than do typical antipsychotic drugs, and that each atypical antipsychotic drug exerts selective effects on attention and memory. In addition, we offer a brief survey of unconventional and novel treatments for neurocognitive symptoms.

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Key words Schizophrenia;Antipsychotic treatment;Memory;Attention.