Most neuropsychological tests were developed without the benefit of modern psychometric theory. We used item response theory (IRT) methods to determine whether a widely used test – the 26-item Matrix Reasoning subtest of the WAIS-IV – might be used more efficiently if it were administered using computerized adaptive testing (CAT).

Data on the Matrix Reasoning subtest from 2197 participants enrolled in the National Neuropsychology Network (NNN) were analyzed using a two-parameter logistic (2PL) IRT model. Simulated CAT results were generated to examine optimal short forms using fixed-length CATs of 3, 6, and 12 items and scores were compared to the original full subtest score. CAT models further explored how many items were needed to achieve a selected precision of measurement (standard error ≤ .40).

The fixed-length CATs of 3, 6, and 12 items correlated well with full-length test results (with r = .90, .97 and .99, respectively). To achieve a standard error of .40 (approximate reliability = .84) only 3–7 items had to be administered for a large percentage of individuals.

This proof-of-concept investigation suggests that the widely used Matrix Reasoning subtest of the WAIS-IV might be shortened by more than 70% in most examinees while maintaining acceptable measurement precision. If similar savings could be realized in other tests, the accessibility of neuropsychological assessment might be markedly enhanced, and more efficient time use could lead to broader subdomain assessment.

Studies that examined sex differences in first-episode patients consistently show that males compared to females have poor premorbid adjustment, earlier age of onset, worse clinical characteristics, and poorer outcomes. However, little is known about potential mediators that could explain these sex differences.

Our sample consisted of 137 individuals with first episode schizophrenia (males, n = 105; 77%) with a mean age of 22.1(s.d. = 4.1) years and mean education of 12.5(s.d. = 1.7) years. At entry, patients were within 2 years of their first psychotic episode onset. Baseline assessments were conducted for premorbid adjustment, symptoms, cognitive functioning, insight, and at 6-months for role and social functioning.

Males as compared to females had poorer premorbid adjustment across several key developmental periods (p < 0.01), an earlier age of onset [M = 20.3(3.3) v. 22.8(5.6), p = 0.002], more negative symptoms (p = 0.044), poorer insight (p = 0.031), and poorer baseline and 6-month role (p = 0.002) and social functioning (p = 0.034). Several of these variables in which males showed impairment were significant predictors of 6-month role and social functioning. Premorbid adjustment and insight mediated the relationship between sex and role and social functioning at 6-months, but not negative symptoms.

Males compared to females were at lower levels across several key premorbid and clinical domains which are strongly associated with functional outcome supporting the hypothesis that males might have a more disabling form of schizophrenia. The relationship between sex with role and social functioning was mediated through premorbid adjustment and insight suggesting pathways for understanding why females might have a less disabling form of schizophrenia.

Cognitive development after schizophrenia onset can be shaped by interventions such as cognitive remediation, yet no study to date has investigated whether patterns of early behavioral development may predict later cognitive changes following intervention. We therefore investigated the extent to which premorbid adjustment trajectories predict cognitive remediation gains in schizophrenia.

In a total sample of 215 participants (170 first-episode schizophrenia participants and 45 controls), we classified premorbid functioning trajectories from childhood through late adolescence using the Cannon-Spoor Premorbid Adjustment Scale. For the 62 schizophrenia participants who underwent 6 months of computer-assisted, bottom-up cognitive remediation interventions, we identified MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery scores for which participants demonstrated mean changes after intervention, then evaluated whether developmental trajectories predicted these changes.

Growth mixture models supported three premorbid functioning trajectories: stable-good, deteriorating, and stable-poor adjustment. Schizophrenia participants demonstrated significant cognitive remediation gains in processing speed, verbal learning, and overall cognition. Notably, participants with stable-poor trajectories demonstrated significantly greater improvements in processing speed compared to participants with deteriorating trajectories.

This is the first study to our knowledge to characterize the associations between premorbid functioning trajectories and cognitive remediation gains after schizophrenia onset, indicating that 6 months of bottom-up cognitive remediation appears to be sufficient to yield a full standard deviation gain in processing speed for individuals with early, enduring functioning difficulties. Our findings highlight the connection between trajectories of premorbid and postmorbid functioning in schizophrenia and emphasize the utility of considering the lifespan developmental course in personalizing therapeutic interventions.

Refractory depression is a devastating condition with significant morbidity, mortality, and societal cost. Approximately 15% of patients with major depressive disorder are refractory to currently available treatments. We hypothesized metabolic abnormalities contributing to treatment refractory depression are associated with distinct findings identifiable in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Our hypothesis was confirmed by a previous small case-controlled study. Here we present a second, larger replication study.

We conducted a case-controlled, targeted, metabolomic evaluation of 141 adolescent and adult patients with well-characterized history of depression refractory to three maximum-dose, adequate-duration medication treatments, and 36 healthy controls. Plasma, urine, and CSF metabolic profiling were performed by coupled gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and high-performance liquid chromatography, electrospray ionization, tandem mass spectrometry.

Abnormalities were identified in 67 of 141 treatment refractory depression participants. The CSF abnormalities included: low cerebral folate (n = 20), low tetrahydrobiopterin intermediates (n = 11), and borderline low-tetrahydrobiopterin intermediates (n = 20). Serum abnormalities included abnormal acylcarnitine profile (n = 12) and abnormal serum amino acids (n = 20). Eighteen patients presented with two or more abnormal metabolic findings. Sixteen patients with cerebral folate deficiency and seven with low tetrahydrobiopterin intermediates in CSF showed improvement in depression symptom inventories after treatment with folinic acid and sapropterin, respectively. No healthy controls had a metabolite abnormality.

Examination of metabolic disorders in treatment refractory depression identified an unexpectedly large proportion of patients with potentially treatable abnormalities. The etiology of these abnormalities and their potential roles in pathogenesis remain to be determined.

Cognitive training (CT) and aerobic exercise both show promising moderate impact on cognition and everyday functioning in schizophrenia. Aerobic exercise is hypothesized to increase brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and thereby synaptic plasticity, leading to increased learning capacity. Systematic CT should take advantage of increased learning capacity and be more effective when combined with aerobic exercise.

We examined the impact of a 6-month program of cognitive training & exercise (CT&E) compared to cognitive training alone (CT) in 47 first-episode schizophrenia outpatients. All participants were provided the same Posit Science computerized CT, 4 h/week, using BrainHQ and SocialVille programs. The CT&E group also participated in total body circuit training exercises to enhance aerobic conditioning. Clinic and home-based exercise were combined for a target of 150 min per week.

The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery Overall Composite improved significantly more with CT&E than with CT alone (p = 0.04), particularly in the first 3 months (6.5 v. 2.2 T-score points, p < 0.02). Work/school functioning improved substantially more with CT&E than with CT alone by 6 months (p < 0.001). BDNF gain tended to predict the amount of cognitive gain but did not reach significance. The cognitive gain by 3 months predicted the amount of work/school functioning improvement at 6 months. The amount of exercise completed was strongly associated with the degree of cognitive and work/school functioning improvement.

Aerobic exercise significantly enhances the impact of CT on cognition and functional outcome in first-episode schizophrenia, apparently driven by the amount of exercise completed.

To characterize and compare the neuropsychological profiles of patients with primary progressive apraxia of speech (PPAOS) and apraxia of speech with progressive agrammatic aphasia (AOS-PAA).

Thirty-nine patients with PPAOS and 49 patients with AOS-PAA underwent formal neurological, speech, language, and neuropsychological evaluations. Cognitive domains assessed included immediate and delayed episodic memory (Wechsler Memory Scale-Third edition; Logical Memory; Visual Reproduction; Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test), processing speed (Trail Making Test A), executive functioning (Trail Making Test B; Delis-Kaplan Executive Functioning Scale – Sorting), and visuospatial ability (Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure copy).

The PPAOS patients were cognitively average or higher in the domains of immediate and delayed episodic memory, processing speed, executive functioning, and visuospatial ability. Patients with AOS-PAA performed more poorly on tests of immediate and delayed episodic memory and executive functioning compared to those with PPAOS. For every 1 unit increase in aphasia severity (e.g. mild to moderate), performance declined by 1/3 to 1/2 a standard deviation depending on cognitive domain. The degree of decline was stronger within the more verbally mediated domains, but was also notable in less verbally mediated domains.

The study provides neuropsychological evidence further supporting the distinction of PPAOS from primary progressive aphasia and should be used to inform future diagnostic criteria. More immediately, it informs prognostication and treatment planning.

Patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders have been increasingly recognised to form cognitive subgroups with differential levels of impairment. Using cluster analytical techniques, this study sought to identify cognitive clusters in a sample of first-episode psychosis (FEP) patients and examine clinical and developmental differences across the resultant groups.

In total, 105 FEP patients in the University of California Los Angeles Aftercare Research Program were assessed for cognition, symptoms and premorbid developmental adjustment. Hierarchical cluster analysis with Ward's method and squared Euclidean distance was conducted, confirmed by discriminant function analysis and optimised with k-means clustering. The stability of the solution was evaluated through split-sample (random, 80 and 70% samples) and alternate method (average linkage method) replication via Cohen's κ analysis. Controlling for multiple comparisons, one-way analysis of variances examined group differences in symptom severity and premorbid adjustment.

Three groups were identified: severely impaired (n = 27), moderately impaired (n = 41) and relatively intact (n = 37). There were no significant differences in symptom severity across the groups. Significant differences were observed for scholastic performance at three different developmental stages: childhood, early adolescence and late adolescence, with the relatively intact group demonstrating significantly better scholastic performance at all three stages than both the moderately impaired and severely impaired groups (who did not significantly differ from each other).

The findings add to growing evidence that cognitive clusters in FEP mirror that of later-stage schizophrenia. They also suggest that premorbid scholastic performance may not just be a risk factor for developing schizophrenia, but is also related to cognitive impairment severity and potentially to prognosis.