Association between physical health and neurocognition in first-episode schizophrenia Provisionally Accepted
Luke Poole1
Hannah M. Perdue1
Jonathon R. Bourque1
Amber P. Sarwani1
Aman P. Dhruve1
Brandon L. Alderman1*
- 1Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, United States
Introduction: Impaired cognition is a core feature of schizophrenia that is evident early in the first episode and is frequently accompanied by compromised physical health. Although physical health confers benefits to cognition, it remains unclear whether physical activity, body mass index (BMI) and cardiorespiratory fitness are associated with neurocognition in first episode schizophrenia patients. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in stimulus categorization and motor response selection processes between first-episode schizophrenia patients compared to age-matched controls and explore associations between physical health and these stages of information processing. Methods: Fourteen young adult patients receiving care following a first episode of psychosis and a matched sample of nonpsychiatric controls completed a visual oddball task from which the P3 and LRP (lateralized readiness potential) event-related potential (ERP) components were extracted to assess stimulus categorization and response selection processes, respectively. Physical activity, aerobic fitness, and BMI were correlated with ERP measures. Results: Compared with controls, patients had lower physical activity levels and longer P3 and LRP latencies. Regardless of stimulus probability, patients had reduced accuracy and slower reaction times relative to controls. In patients, marginal associations were found between physical activity and P3 difference waveform amplitude, and BMI was negatively associated with parent P3 waveform amplitude. Discussion: The present findings suggest that cognitive impairment in first-episode schizophrenia spans both stimulus-and response-related stages of information processing, and may be targeted through physical activity interventions.
Keywords: Schizophrenia, Cognition, aerobic exercise, lateralized readiness potential (LRP), P300
Received: 17 Feb 2024;
Accepted: 08 Apr 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Poole, Perdue, Bourque, Sarwani, Dhruve and Alderman. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mx. Brandon L. Alderman, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, 08901, New Jersey, United States