Elementary neurocognitive function, learning potential and everyday life skills in schizophrenia: What is their relationship?

Few studies have investigated the relationships between static, elementary neurocognitive functions, dynamic measures of learning potential and functional status in schizophrenia, despite the putative role of learning potential in models of the relationship between static neurocognitive function and functional status (e.g., Green et al., 2000). The current study sought to clarify these relationships. One-hundred and twenty-five outpatients with schizophrenia were administered the California Verbal Learning Test—II (CVLT-II), as an index of learning potential, along with measures of sustained attention, verbal prose recall, working memory, problem-solving and processing speed, and a capacity measure of everyday life skills (Study 1). A subset of 48 outpatients with schizophrenia who were impaired on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were also administered a test–train–test version of the WCST as a second measure of learning potential (Study 2). As expected, several static, elementary neurocognitive measures were linked to measures of everyday life skills in both samples. There was no evidence, however, that either measure of learning potential contributed unique variance beyond that explained by elementary cognitive skill to measures of everyday life skills. Learning potential was also tested as a mediator and moderator of the relationship between static neurocognitive function and measures of everyday life skills. Neither learning potential measure mediated the relationship between static measures of neurocognition and everyday life skills. Learning potential, as measured by the CVLT-II, was found to moderate the relationship of processing speed and everyday life skills. Taken together, these findings raise questions as to the explanatory value of measures of learning potential as predictors of functional status in schizophrenia.