OBJECTIVE: @entity2414 are prominent in @entity161 and have also been found in first @entity716 (FEP) and individuals at clinical risk of the disorder. The central role of the hippocampus in verbal memory processing and the consistent findings of hippocampal volume reductions in chronic @entity1 have prompted the suggestion that @entity73 performance may be a biomarker of @entity161 . However, it is currently unclear as to when, during the early phase of @entity716 , verbal memory performance becomes significantly impaired. The current study investigated verbal relational memory in FEP using a novel verbal paired associate task, and tested whether performance was dependent on phase of illness within FEP, where @entity1 with a diagnosis of @entity161 were considered to be in a more advanced stage than those with @entity914 . METHOD: Forty-seven currently @entity914 @entity1 and 36 healthy non-psychiatric controls, aged 15-25 years old, completed a test comprising four trials of learning and cued @entity2414 (denoted AB pairs), an interference phase comprising two trials with new second words (AC pairs), and finally cued recall for the original AB pairings. RESULTS: FEP @entity1 performed similarly to controls on the relational memory task. There was no difference in performance between FEP @entity1 who had a diagnosis of @entity161 and those with a diagnosis of @entity914 . CONCLUSIONS: Verbal relational memory appears to be intact in FEP. This finding, along with chronic @entity1 literature, suggests that decline in hippocampal and medial temporal lobe functioning occurs during @entity221 stages. Further research is needed to aid in the development of intervention strategies that may prevent decline in such cognitive domains at this crucial early stage of the illness.

Relational memory in first XXXX : implications for progressive hippocampal dysfunction after illness onset.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity73 :: ('MESH:D003072', 'Disease') :: ['impaired verbal memory'] @entity914 :: ('MESH:D011618', 'Disease') :: ['psychotic FEP', 'schizophreniform disorder'] @entity161 :: ('MESH:D012559', 'Disease') :: ['schizophrenia'] @entity716 :: ('MESH:D011605', 'Disease') :: ['episode psychosis', 'psychosis'] @entity2414 :: ('MESH:D008569', 'Disease') :: ['Verbal episodic memory deficits', 'recall of word pairs'] @entity221 :: ('MESH:D005334', 'Disease') :: ['later illness']
@entity716 :: (MESH:D011605,Disease) :: ['episode psychosis']
