Evaluación neuropsicológica de la memoria en un grupo de niños y adolescentes con un primer episodio de psicosis: consumo de Cannabis y «efecto paradójico» / Neuropsychological assessment of memory in child and adolescent first episode psychosis: cannabis and «the paradox effect»

Introducción. La importancia que se otorga al funcionamiento neuropsicológico durante el primer episodio de psicosis (PEP) ha dado lugar a la publicación de un número creciente de artículos de investigación sobre este aspecto en poblaciones de pacientes. El objetivo del presente estudio fue triple: por un lado, examinar la memoria verbal y visual de una muestra de niños y adolescentes con un PEP; en segundo lugar, evaluar el efecto de otros dominios cognitivos sobre la memoria verbal y visual y, en tercer lugar, analizar la relación entre el rendimiento cognitivo en memoria y el consumo de Cannabis. Método. La muestra incluyó a 41 pacientes con PEP y a 39 individuos de control sanos. Las variables analizadas fueron la memoria verbal y visual, atención, memoria de trabajo, velocidad de procesamiento, flexibilidad mental, fluidez verbal, coordinación motora, capacidad de planificación e inteligencia. Resultados. En pacientes con un PEP, comparado con el grupo de individuos sanos que sirvieron como control, se encontraron alteraciones en los dominios de memoria verbal a corto y largo plazo y de la memoria visual a corto plazo; además, también identificamos una influencia de la inteligencia y la coordinación motora en la memoria visual. Por último, entre los pacientes consumidores de Cannabis, detectamos un «efecto paradójico» del consumo, puesto que ejecutaron mejor el test que mide la memoria visual en comparación con los que no consumieron dicha sustancia. Conclusiones. En primer lugar, en pacientes con un PEP se identifican alteraciones en la memoria verbal a corto y largo plazo y en la reproducción visual a corto plazo. En segundo lugar, la coordinación motora y la inteligencia son 2 dimensiones cognitivas que influyen en la memoria visual a corto plazo de los pacientes. Y, por último, en la muestra del presente estudio de pacientes con PEP, el consumo de Cannabis se asoció a un mejor rendimiento en el test que evalúa la memoria visual a corto plazo, determinado mediante el tiempo requerido para la ejecución del test, es decir, la eficiencia en su ejecución. No obstante, la precisión en la ejecución de la tarea de memoria visual no fue mejor que la observada entre individuos sanos del grupo de control (AU)

Introduction. The importance of neuropsychological functioning in First-Episode Psychosis (FEP) has led to the publication of a growing number of studies in this area of research. The present study pursued three goals: First, to examine verbal and visual memory in a sample of Child and Adolescent FEP, second, to evaluate the effect of other cognitive domains on verbal and visual memory, and finally, to examine the relationship between performance in this cognitive dimension and the use of cannabis at this age. Method. A sample of 41 FEPs and 39 healthy subjects were evaluated. The variables assessed were verbal and visual memory, attention, working memory, processing speed, mental flexibility, verbal fluency, motor coordination, planning ability and intelligence. Results. Our results found impairment of short and long-term recall of verbal memory, and short-term visual memory in early psychosis. They also found relationships between cognitive dimensions, such as visual memory and intelligence and motor coordination. Finally, a «paradoxical» effect was found in patients who used cannabis, as the FEP consumers performed the visual memory test better than those who had not used it. Conclusions. Patients showed impairment of short and long-term recall of verbal information and short-term visual reproduction. In the second place, motor coordination and intelligence influenced short-term visual memory in patients in the early stages of the illness. Third, use of cannabis in patients with FEP was associated with better performance in the test that evaluated the short-term visual memory, as measured by task completion time, that is, efficiency in performing the test.However, when measured by task execution accuracy, their visual memory was no better than the controls (AU)

Neuropsychological assessment of memory in child and adolescent first episode psychosis: cannabis and «the paradox effect¼.

INTRODUCTION: The importance of neuropsychological functioning in First-Episode Psychosis (FEP) has led to the publication of a growing number of studies in this area of research. The present study pursued three goals: First, to examine verbal and visual memory in a sample of Child and Adolescent FEP, second, to evaluate the effect of other cognitive domains on verbal and visual memory, and finally, to examine the relationship between performance in this cognitive dimension and the use of cannabis at this age. METHOD: A sample of 41 FEPs and 39 healthy subjects were evaluated. The variables assessed were verbal and visual memory, attention, working memory, processing speed, mental flexibility, verbal fluency, motor coordination, planning ability and intelligence. RESULTS: Our results found impairment of short and long-term recall of verbal memory, and short-term visual memory in early psychosis. They also found relationships between cognitive dimensions, such as visual memory and intelligence and motor coordination. Finally, a «paradoxical¼ effect was found in patients who used cannabis, as the FEP consumers performed the visual memory test better than those who had not used it. CONCLUSIONS: Patients showed impairment of short and long-term recall of verbal information and short-term visual reproduction. In the second place, motor coordination and intelligence influenced short-term visual memory in patients in the early stages of the illness. Third, use of cannabis in patients with FEP was associated with better performance in the test that evaluated the short-term visual memory, as measured by task completion time, that is, efficiency in performing the test. However, when measured by task execution accuracy, their visual memory was no better than the controls.