INS NYC 2024 Program

Poster

Poster Session 05 Program Schedule

02/15/2024
02:30 pm - 03:45 pm
Room: Shubert Complex (Posters 1-60)

Poster Session 05: Neuropsychiatry | Addiction/Dependence | Stress/Coping | Emotional/Social Processes


Final Abstract #28

Two Distinct Cognitive Profiles Characterize Patients with First-Episode Psychosis

Madison Dykins, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, United States
Scot Hill, Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago, United States

Category: Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Keyword 1: schizophrenia
Keyword 2: psychosis
Keyword 3: cognitive functioning

Objective:

Cognitive heterogeneity has been well established in patients with chronic schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD), yet it is unclear whether cognitive heterogeneity generalizes to first-episode psychosis (FEP). This is a critical step toward understanding variations of cognitive dysfunction across the psychosis spectrum. Variations in cognition early in the disease course could point to meaningful subtypes that could relate to distinct disease mechanisms and progression.

Participants and Methods:

The present study was a secondary analysis of archival data collected from 72 patients with FEP who were administered a large neuropsychological battery. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to investigate cognitive heterogeneity in this sample. LPA incorporates fit indices during model comparison and is more objective compared to cluster analytic techniques. The Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars (BCH) bias-adjusted three-step approach was used to characterize cognitive subgroups further. The degree to which subgroup classification was related to premorbid ability and symptom severity was also explored.

Results:

Latent profile analysis indicated two cognitive profiles: 1) Intact (similar to healthy controls) and 2) Impaired (characterized by global cognitive dysfunction). The profiles were well separated with good discrimination between profiles (Average Posterior Probability > 0.70; Entropy = 0.847). Estimated premorbid ability was significantly lower in the cognitively impaired profile, and there were no significant group differences in clinical ratings.

Conclusions:

The present findings identified two cognitive profiles that were consistent with previous findings in both the FEP and chronic SSD literature using data-driven methodology. However, LPA did not identify an intermediate group, which is inconsistent with previous literature. Overall, this suggests a somewhat similar presentation of cognitive heterogeneity (i.e., intact or impaired cognitive abilities) in early course and chronic SSD. Longitudinal analysis of cognitive heterogeneity is needed to clarify whether cognitive subgroups drift apart over time. Additionally, future studies may benefit from using similarly rigorous, objective data-driven techniques, like LPA, in larger samples to clarify the number of distinct profiles in both early course and chronic SSD.