THE EFFECTS OF ANTIPSYCHOTIC AND ANTIPARKINSONIAN MEDICATION ON PSYCHOSOCIAL SKILL LEARNING

Although research suggests that therapeutic outcomes for schizophrenic patients are enhanced when antipsychotic medication is combined with psychosocial skill learning, the manner by which the two approaches combine has not been well delineated. The combination is described in this article in terms of mediating cognitive variables. Two bodies of research were examined: (a) studies that investigated the relationship between information processing deficits of schizophrenia and psychosocial skill learning and (b) studies that examined medication effects on cognitive functioning. Research suggests that psychosocial skill learning is significantly related to visual vigilance and verbal recall. Research also suggests that low to moderate doses of antipsychotic medications improve vigilance of schizophrenic patients but have nor been shown to consistently improve verbal memory; high doses, on the other hand, may significantly diminish vigilance. Anticholinergic medication, but not dopamine agonists, seems to exacerbate the verbal memory deficits of schizophrenia. The combined evidence suggests that low to moderate doses of antipsychotic medication may improve psychosocial skill learning. However, high-dose antipsychotics or anticholinergic medication may actually diminish skill learning.