Working memory and the psychopathology of schizophrenia

Working memory (WM) deficits are core symptoms of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. WM-models serve as theoretical and empirical framework for the investigation of cognitive dysfunction as well as of schizophrenic phenomenology. Behavioral and functional neuroimaging data support the concept of a supramodal WM-deficit in schizophrenia, associated with the functional integrity of prefrontal regions. This review provides a short overview of WM-dysfunction in schizophrenia as well as its impact on psychopathology. Furthermore, the relationship of WM-associated cerebral activation and psychopathological symptoms is illustrated. Currently available studies on WM-function and psychopathology in schizophrenia obtained rather heterogeneous results, although disorganisation and negative symptoms may be closely linked to prefrontal regions. The investigation of WM-function in schizophrenic subsyndromes with functional neuroimaging techniques still remains a clinical and scientific desideratum.