Previous research has shown memory deficits in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) but has been inconsistent as to which aspects of memory are affected and how deficits are linked to OCD symptoms. The current study assessed working, episodic and semantic memory in 19 subjects with OCD and 19 matched controls. The severity of OCD symptoms was assessed using a clinicianrated scale (Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, Y-BOCS) and a self-report measure (Padua InventoryRevised, PI-R). Episodic and semantic memory performance was significantly reduced in OCD subjects relative to controls while working memory was preserved. Episodic memory performance in both OCD and healthy control subjects was significantly related to the Padua dimensions Rumination and Checking even if the influence of depressive mood and total OC symptom severity was controlled for. Linear regression revealed that Rumination was most closely related to episodic memory performance in both OCD and healthy control subjects above Checking. Results point to the possible impact of self-focused attention on effortful encoding processes.

Morphological abnormalities of the hippocampus might form the neurobiological basis of memory dysfunction in schizophrenia. Hippocampal volume was found to be bilaterally reduced in male, but not in female, subjects with schizophrenia. Right hippocampal volume was significantly related to impaired visual learning.

A body of neuropsychological research revealed cognitive impairments in patients suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Only few investigations addressed the question of how specific these impairments are. The present study compared the performances of 19 subjects with OCD to 19 subjects with schizophrenia and 19 healthy controls on neuropsychological tasks across the main cognitive domains (memory, attention, visual spatial and executive functioning). For purposes of data-reduction, single test measures of the test battery applied were aggregated into eight cognitive domain scores. Contrary to our expectation we found comparable performance profiles of obsessive-compulsive (OC) and schizophrenia subjects across domains with impairments primarily affecting simple attentional skills and memory skills. However, deficits of subjects with schizophrenia were greater in magnitude than those of subjects with OCD on all domains assessed. Elevated depression scores exerted a relevant impact on performance deficits in the OC but not in the schizophrenia sample.

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