Cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia
About CIAS
Almost all people living with schizophrenia have cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS).
CIAS underlies both positive and negative symptoms and causes difficulty with memory, attention and problem solving. Generally, CIAS persists even if the positive and negative symptoms are being managed with medication and therapy.
Current antipsychotic treatments effectively treat positive symptoms, modestly improve negative symptoms, but have little to no effect on cognitive deficits.
What causes CIAS?
Cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia is presumed to originate from the malfunctioning of certain circuits in the brain. One hypothesis is that such disruption is caused in part by a dysfunction in cellular synapses.
The neurotransmitter glutamate is the brain’s major excitatory neurotransmitter and it plays a key role in driving the electrical signals and circuits that underlie learning and memory.
Data suggest that a disruption in this process involving glutamate often facilitates a number of neurological and psychiatric diseases, including schizophrenia.
How is CIAS treated?
Currently, there are no approved medications for CIAS.
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