Adjunctive intranasal oxytocin improves verbal memory in people with schizophrenia

作者：Feifel David^*; MacDonald Kai; Cobb Patrice; Minassian Arpi

来源：Schizophrenia Research, 2012, 139(1-3): 207-210.

DOI：10.1016/j.schres.2012.05.018

• Schizophrenia
• Oxytocin
• Cognition
• Memory
• CVLT
• LNS

Introduction: Cognitive deficits are a prominent, disabling component of schizophrenia and current pharmacological treatments have demonstrated limited efficacy in their amelioration. Oxytocin - though it has shown promise as a novel antipsychotic in multiple clinical trials - has as-yet poorly characterized effects on cognition, with some evidence indicating an amnestic profile.
Method: As part of a previously reported trial of chronic adjunctive oxytocin in schizophrenia, we measured its effect on two cognitive tests: the CVLT (California Verbal Learning Test) and the LNS (Letter Number Sequence). Tests were performed at baseline and after 3 weeks of treatment.
Results: We found no evidence for an amnestic effect and, in fact, significantly better performance with oxytocin on several subtests of the CVLT; namely total Recall trials 1-5 (p=0.027), short delayed free recall (p=0.032) and total recall discrimination (p=0.020). In contrast we found no difference between placebo and oxytocin on LNS performance.
Conclusions: This is the first report we are aware of documenting a beneficial effect of oxytocin on cognition in schizophrenia. Though from a small sample (n=15), these data both offset past concerns about oxytocin's amnestic effects, and may auger another potential benefit in addition to the already-demonstrated salutary effects on other components of the illness.

• 出版日期2012-8