JPBS

In the late 19th century, Emil Kraepelin divided endogenous psychosis into manic-depressive psychosis and dementia praecox. The latter term described individuals with schizophrenia and highlights cognitive deficits as a core feature of this illness. Since first degree relatives show lower cognitive performance than healthy controls, but better performance than patients, cognitive functions are discussed as potential endophenotypes for schizophrenia. During the last years, several studies have explored the relationship between schizophrenia polygenic risk scores and cognition both in individuals with psychiatric diseases and the general population. Current research shows mixed results for specific cognitive domains as well as general cognitive abilities and intelligence. These ambiguous results in parts might be due to the heterogeneity of neuropsychological tests used to measure various cognitive domains. Most studies are also underpowered, given the small to moderate effects of schizophrenia polygenic risk scores on cognition. As sufficient sample sizes become more and more available by international consortia and national registries, future studies will probably shed light on the biological relationship between schizophrenia and cognition.

psychosis; genomic profile score; cognitive performance; intelligence; endophenotype