Neurocognitive performance and functional disability in the psychosis prodrome Tara A. Niendam a, * , Carrie E. Bearden b , Jennifer K. Johnson b , Malin McKinley b , Rachel Loewy c , Mary O’Brien b , Keith H. Nuechterlein a,b , Michael F. Green b , Tyrone D. Cannon a,b a Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Box 951563, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563, United States b Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Box 956968, Rm 2265, 300 Medical Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-6968, United States c Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus, Ave., Box PAR, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States Received 8 November 2005; received in revised form 28 January 2006; accepted 3 February 2006 Available online 24 March 2006 Abstract Objective: This study evaluates the pattern of neuropsychological deficits and their association with clinical symptomatology and social functioning in individuals identified as ultra-high-risk (UHR) for psychosis. Methods: A sample of 45 UHR individuals was identified using the Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes (SIPS) from consecutive referrals to the Staglin Music Festival Center for the Assessment and Prevention of Prodromal States (CAPPS) at UCLA. Participants were administered a neurocognitive test battery, as well as measures of global (Strauss–Carpenter Outcome Scale) and social functioning (UCLA Social Attainment Survey). Results: Participants showed significant deficits in speed of processing, verbal learning and memory, and motor speed. Poorer verbal learning and memory performance was significantly associated with poorer social functioning, and there was a trend for poorer performance on reasoning and problem solving to be associated with poorer global functioning. Verbal memory independently predicted social functioning over and above severity of negative symptoms. Cognitive deficits were not associated with severity of clinical symptomatology. Conclusions: Despite the absence of fully psychotic symptoms, UHR individuals experience significant cognitive deficits, particularly on tasks requiring speeded information-processing and efficient recall from memory, and these deficits appear to be associated with functional disability in a manner parallel to that observed in patients with established psychotic illness. D 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Prodrome; Schizophrenia; Psychosis; Cognition; Outcome; Clinical symptoms 0920-9964/$ - see front matter D 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2006.02.005 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 310 794 9673; fax: +1 310 794 9740. E-mail address: tniendam@ucla.edu (T.A. Niendam). Schizophrenia Research 84 (2006) 100– 111 www.elsevier.com/locate/schres