Participants completed a computerized neurocognitive test battery designed to evaluate abstraction and mental flexibility (ABF), attention (ATT), verbal memory (VME), face memory (FME), spatial memory (SME), language and reasoning (LAN), spatial processing (SPA), sensorimotor dexterity (SM) (10 (link),11 (link)), and emotion processing (EMO). The EMO task included emotion intensity discrimination (9 (link),12 (link)) and an emotion identification task for happy, sad, anger, fear, and neutral (13 (link)). The computerized battery automatically scores both the number of correct responses on the task (i.e. accuracy) and the median time for correct responses in msec (i.e. speed). From these two measures we also calculated a measure of efficiency, the ratio of accuracy to speed. For sensorimotor dexterity, accuracy and efficiency were not analyzed as > 75% of participants had perfect scores, resulting in too little variation in these traits within the sample. Neurocognitive domain scores were transformed to their standard equivalents (Z-scores) based on the normative control sample. Further details regarding the individual tests on the computerized neurocognitive battery and its administration in this sample are provided in Gur et al. (9 (link)).
DSM-IV clinical diagnoses were obtained through a standard consensus diagnosis process based on information from the Diagnostic Interview for Genetics Studies (DIGS, version 2.0) administered to each participant, the Family Interview for Genetics Studies (FIGS), and a review of any available medical records. Each case was reviewed by two investigators who were blind to the family relationships among the participants to arrive at lifetime best estimate final diagnoses for the participant. Best estimate diagnoses for cases with psychotic features and disagreement between the two raters were discussed in diagnostic meetings at each site and particularly difficult cases were discussed between the investigators at the two ascertainment sites. Inter-rater reliability within and across sites was evaluated using videotaped interviews to maintain a Kappa > 0.8.
There were 106 individuals in these families with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, depressed type. Most families had two affected individuals, due to the ascertainment on an affected relative pair. However, nine families had three affected individuals; two families had four affected individuals; and three families had five affected individuals. Additionally, 22 individuals in these families had cluster A diagnoses, 4 were schizoaffective-bipolar, 2 had delusional disorder, and 1 person was diagnosed with brief psychotic disorder.
Of the individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, depressed type, 75% were receiving treatment at the time of assessment, some of them with multiple medications. These treatments included first generation (typical) antipsychotics (33%), second generation antipsychotics (48%), mood stabilizers (15%), and benzodiazepine (10%). Among the 25% of affected individuals not being treated at the time of assessment, approximately one third had never been medicated, one third had been off treatment for six months or more, and one third had discontinued treatment within the last six months. Effects of medications on the neurocognitive measures have been examined extensively in previous studies and were found to be negligible or subtle (14 (link)-17 (link)). Therefore, medication status was not considered in the present analyses.
DSM-IV clinical diagnoses were obtained through a standard consensus diagnosis process based on information from the Diagnostic Interview for Genetics Studies (DIGS, version 2.0) administered to each participant, the Family Interview for Genetics Studies (FIGS), and a review of any available medical records. Each case was reviewed by two investigators who were blind to the family relationships among the participants to arrive at lifetime best estimate final diagnoses for the participant. Best estimate diagnoses for cases with psychotic features and disagreement between the two raters were discussed in diagnostic meetings at each site and particularly difficult cases were discussed between the investigators at the two ascertainment sites. Inter-rater reliability within and across sites was evaluated using videotaped interviews to maintain a Kappa > 0.8.
There were 106 individuals in these families with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, depressed type. Most families had two affected individuals, due to the ascertainment on an affected relative pair. However, nine families had three affected individuals; two families had four affected individuals; and three families had five affected individuals. Additionally, 22 individuals in these families had cluster A diagnoses, 4 were schizoaffective-bipolar, 2 had delusional disorder, and 1 person was diagnosed with brief psychotic disorder.
Of the individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, depressed type, 75% were receiving treatment at the time of assessment, some of them with multiple medications. These treatments included first generation (typical) antipsychotics (33%), second generation antipsychotics (48%), mood stabilizers (15%), and benzodiazepine (10%). Among the 25% of affected individuals not being treated at the time of assessment, approximately one third had never been medicated, one third had been off treatment for six months or more, and one third had discontinued treatment within the last six months. Effects of medications on the neurocognitive measures have been examined extensively in previous studies and were found to be negligible or subtle (14 (link)-17 (link)). Therefore, medication status was not considered in the present analyses.
