More severe sustained attention deficits in nonpsychotic siblings of multiplex schizophrenia families than in those of simplex ones
Journal
Schizophrenia Research
Journal Volume
87
Journal Volume
87
Journal Issue
1-3
Journal Issue
1-3
Pages
172-180
Start Page
172
End Page
180
ISSN
0920-9964
Date Issued
2006-10
Author(s)
Tsuang H.-C.
Lin S.-H.
Liu S.K.
Abstract
Sustained attention deficits measured by the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) have been proposed as an endophenotype of schizophrenia. However, little is known about whether sustained attention deficits in first-degree relatives of schizophrenic patients are associated with familial loading for schizophrenia. We examined 107 parents and 84 siblings of simplex schizophrenia families as well as 72 parents and 56 siblings of multiplex schizophrenia families, all nonpsychotic, using the Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies and two sessions of the CPT (undegraded and degraded). The effect of perceptual load was assessed using the residual of the regression of the degraded score on the undegraded one. Statistical models that can adjust for familial correlations were used to compare the CPT performance of relatives between the two types of families. Siblings from multiplex families exhibited worse performance on the degraded CPT and less proficiency in processing the perceptual load than those from simplex families. No such difference was observed for the parents on either CPT version. We concluded that sustained attention along with perceptual load processing is more impaired in the siblings of schizophrenic patients with high familial loading and that this finding might be useful for future genetic dissection of schizophrenia. ? 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
SDGs
Other Subjects
adult; article; attention deficit disorder; controlled study; disease association; disease severity; family; female; genetic load; human; interview; major clinical study; male; perception; performance; phenotype; priority journal; schizophrenia; scoring system; sibling; Adult; Attention; Cognition Disorders; Demography; Family; Female; Humans; Male; Neuropsychological Tests; Schizophrenia; Severity of Illness Index; Siblings
Type
journal article