Personality Differences in Schizophrenia Are Related to Performance on Neuropsychological Tasks

Abstract

Altered cognition and personality appear to emerge in tandem and adversely affect outcome in schizophrenia, yet little research has been done to determine whether these are related or independent domains. In this study, the relationship between the Big Five personality traits--neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness--and cognitive and motor performance in outpatients with chronic, clinically stable schizophrenia (N = 30) and age-matched healthy comparison subjects (N = 45) was examined. Subjects completed tests of attention, executive and motor functions, and the NEO-Five Factor Personality Inventory. Patients scored significantly higher on neuroticism and lower on extraversion and agreeableness, but after variance due to neuropsychological performance was statistically removed from NEO scale scores, personality dimensions and profiles no longer differed between groups. Neuropsychological performance and demographic variables, but not diagnosis, uniquely accounted for statistically significant amounts of personality variance, and neuropsychological task performance was correlated with personality dimensions in both patients and comparison subjects. These cross-sectional data provide preliminary evidence that personality dysfunction in schizophrenia may be mediated by disease-related changes in cognitive operations, or the neural processes underlying them. Longitudinal studies utilizing more comprehensive measures of neurocognitive performance are needed to define further the relationship between neuropsychological function and personality in schizophrenia.

The uncinate fasciculus and extraversion in schizotypal personality disorder: A diffusion tensor imaging study

“…Personality changes in schizophrenia may also stem from altered brain function (Gurrera et al, 2005b). The present data suggest that reduced right UF integrity contributes to reduced extraversion in SPD.…”

Putting the person first : an examination of thought disorder and personality heterogeneity in schizophrenia.

“…Similar to N, the findings on levels of E in schizophrenia have been fairly consistent. Individuals with schizophrenia tend to obtain lower scores on E than nonpsychiatric comparison groups (Berenbaum & Fujita, 1994;Camisa et al, 2005;Gurrera, Nestor, & O'Donnell, 2000;Gurrera et al, 2005;Hérran et al, 2006) and a normative sample (Bagby et al, 1997;Reno et al, 2004). Similar levels of E have been found in major depressive disorder (Bagby et al, 1997), substance use, and dual diagnosis groups (Reno, 2004).…”

“…When compared to the other domains of the FFM, the findings on N in schizophrenia have been the most consistent. As a group, those with schizophrenia consistently exhibit statistically significant higher levels of N than non-psychiatric control groups (Berenbaum & Fujita, 1994;Camisa et al, 2005;Gurrera et al, 2000;Gurrera, Nestor, O'Donnell, Rosenberg, & McCarley, 2005;Herrán, Sierra-Biddle, Cuesta, Sandoya, & Vazquez-Barquero, 2006;, or when compared to a normative sample (Bagby et al, 1997;Reno, 2004). Higher levels of N have also been found in relatives of individuals with schizophrenia who score high on measures of schizotypy (Bora & Veznedaroglu, 2007).…”

“…High scores are also linked to high levels of imagination, flexibility, and a more broad experience of emotions while low scores on O are associated with more conventional values and beliefs and behavioral and emotional rigidity. Several studies have found that those with schizophrenia as a group tend to score lower than control groups on O, although the differences have not been statistically significant (Camisa et al, 2005;Gurrera, Nestor, &O'Donnell, 2000;Gurrera et al, 2005). When compared to the normative sample, however, studies have shown no differences on O Reno, 2004).…”

Pergolide Treatment of Cognitive Deficits Associated with Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Continued Evidence of the Importance of the Dopamine System in the Schizophrenia Spectrum

“…Cognitive deficits are the single best predictor of functional outcome in schizophrenia (Bozikas et al, 2006;Hofer et al, 2005;Milev et al, 2005). They predict poorer medication (Burton, 2005) and treatment (Prouteau et al, 2004) adherence, reduced adaptive and social skills (Bowie and Harvey, 2005), dysfunctional personality traits (Gurrera et al, 2005), and increased risk of relapse in first-episode patients (Chen et al, 2005). The cognitive dysfunction of schizophrenia appears to involve almost all the known neurotransmitter systems (Tamminga, 2006) and is also be found in probands' non-schizophrenic relatives (Keefe et al, 1994;Sitskoorn et al, 2004).…”