Neuropsychological impairment associated with symptoms of schizotypy: Role of depressive and Paranoid symptoms

Little is known about the role of depressive symptoms in cognitive impairment associated with schizotypy. We compared neuropsychological performance among people reporting high levels of both schizotypal symptomatology on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) and depressive symptoms on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), people with high SPQ and low BDI-II, and healthy controls (low SPQ and BDI-II). We hypothesized that the group with both depressive and schizotypal features would demonstrate the greatest impairment. However, that group demonstrated better verbal memory and cognitive set maintenance. Further examination revealed higher endorsement of paranoid/suspicious symptoms in the people with both depressive and schizotypal features. Results highlight the importance of distinguishing among subtype variations in schizotypal research.