Risperidone improves interpersonal perception and executive function in patients with schizophrenia

Objective: To investigate whether risperidone improves social cognitive impairments and executive dysfunction in people with schizophrenia. Methods: Fifty-six patients who met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia were allocated to a risperidone treatment group (RTG, n= 28) and a typical antipsychotic treatment group (TATG, n= 28). Twenty-eight healthy volunteers were recruited as the normal control group (NCG). The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, Interpersonal Perception Task-15 (IPT-15), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were rated at baseline and after 4 and 12 weeks of treatment with risperidone or typical antipsychotics. Results: Risperidone and typical antipsychotics decreased Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores for total psychopathology and positive and negative symptoms. At baseline, in the IPT-15, total scores and five factor scores, as well as the number of categories completed and the percentage of conceptual level responses, were significantly lower in the RTG and TATG than in the NCG, whereas total response errors, perseverative errors, and failure to maintain set were significantly higher in the patient groups than in the NCG. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect of time period (baseline, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks) for IPT-15 scores and WCST performances, and significant interactions for time period x group (RTG and TATG). Multivariate analysis of variance showed no significant differences between the RTG and TATG on IPT-15 scores at 4 weeks, but there were significant differences between these two groups at 12 weeks. Significant differences were also found between the RTG and TATG on WCST performances at 4 and 12 weeks. Conclusion: Individuals with schizophrenia have impairments in social cognitive and executive function, which might be improved by risperidone.