Various neurocognitive deficits and conversion risk in individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis

AIM: Individuals at clinical high risk for psychosis (CHR) exhibit neurocognitive deficits in multiple domains. The aim of this study is to investigate whether several components of neurocognition are predictive of conversion to psychosis. METHODS: Fifty-two CHR individuals were assessed with the Structured Interview for Psychosis Risk Syndromes and completed a battery of neurocognitive tests at baseline including measures of executive functioning, attention, working memory, processing speed and reaction time. Neurocognitive functioning at baseline was scored based on an external normative control group. Most subjects were followed for 2.5 years to determine conversion status. RESULTS: Significant differences in neurocognitive functioning between CHR individuals and the control group were present in all domains. Twenty-six per cent of the participants converted to psychosis within 9.8 (standard deviation = 8.0) months on average (median 9 months), but there were no significant differences in neurocognition converters and non-converters. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals at CHR have deficits in neurocognitive functioning, but such deficits do not appear to be related to conversion risk.