Memory Dysfunctions in the Cases with Schizophrenia

Background: Memory refers to the process by which information is stored in the brain. It includes encoding, storage and recall of information. Memory encapsulates sense of personal identity, culture and the meaning of individuals' life. Schizophrenia patients consistently show performance deficits on memory tasks, whether the material in question is verbal or nonverbal, recently learned items or older material. Aim: The study has been designed to assess the memory deficits in schizophrenic patients and it's comparison with the normal control group. Method: The sample consists of 100 subjects, out of which 50 schizophrenia patients diagnosed as per ICD-10 DCR criteria and 50 normal control subjects have been included in the study. Wechsler Memory Scale and GHQ- 12 have been used in the study. Result: Schizophrenia patients performed poor in comparison to normal control subjects on subtests of Wechsler Memory Scale. It has further been found that schizophrenic patients were having problems of immediate, recent and remote memory. They were having impaired logical memory in terms of conceptualizing themes of the story and had difficulty in learning and remembering the information. Conclusion: Patients with schizophrenia exhibited impaired information and orientation, disturbed logical memory and had problems in conceptualizing the themes.