MEMORY IN FUNCTIONAL-PSYCHOSIS

Acute schizophrenic, chronic schizophrenic and depressive patients (20 of each) were compared with normal subjects and 6 groups of patients with organic brain disease. Tests of verbal learning (left hemisphere type function) and pattern recognition memory (right hemisphere type function) were given. All functional psychotics showed impaired memory. Acute schizophrenics were only impaired on the verbal task, suggesting left hemisphere dysfunction, while chronic schizophrenics and depressives were impaired on both tasks, suggesting bilateral dysfunction.