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Semantic memory is both impaired and anomalous in schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

E. Y. H. Chen,
A. J. Wilkins and
P. J. McKenna
E. Y. H. Chen
Affiliation:
Fulbourn Hospital, MRC Applied Psychology Unit, Cambridge
A. J. Wilkins
Affiliation:
Fulbourn Hospital, MRC Applied Psychology Unit, Cambridge
P. J. McKenna*
Affiliation:
Fulbourn Hospital, MRC Applied Psychology Unit, Cambridge
*
1Address for correspondence: Dr P. J. McKenna, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge CB1 5EF.
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Synopsis

The integrity of semantic memory in schizophrenia was examined in a reaction time task requiring subjects to verify words as members or non-members of a conceptual category, where the words differed in their degree of semantic relationship to the category. Compared to matched normal controls, 28 schizophrenic patients were impaired on the task, showing slower responses in all conditions. In addition, their performance was anomalous in that they took longest to respond to items that were outside the category but semantically related to it, in contrast to the controls who took the longest to respond to ambiguous words at the borderline of the category. The pattern of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses of the patients was anomalous in a similar way. In both speed and accuracy of responding, the findings indicate that there is an outward shift of semantic category boundaries in schizophrenia.

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 1 , February 1994, pp. 193 - 202
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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