Semantic memory and symptomatology in schizophrenia : A review

This chapter reviews the past twenty years of research on semantic memory function in schizophrenia. This now substantial body of work has consistently documented abnormal semantic memory in most schizophrenia patients across a range of tasks (including priming, semantic fluency, picture naming) and which, varies from being quite mild through to some cases being indistinguishable from the impairment seen in Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, although some patients have problems accessing intact semantics, others-possibly with longer illness duration-show an apparent loss of knowledge from the semantic store itself. While the abnormalities of semantic memory i.e. knowledge, offer a potential candidate of explanation for some symptoms, little work has examined the relationship between semantic memory and symptomatology.