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Executive Dysfunction Is Predictive Of Clinical Symptomatology In 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome, Chinonyere Kemdirim Bello

Loma Linda University Electronic Theses, Dissertations & Projects

By adulthood, 25%- 30% of individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22qDS) develop a psychotic disorder, often schizophrenia, and it is not understood why. Given the known genetic etiology of this disorder and the greatly elevated risk for development of schizophrenia, this group offers the possibility of defining a seemingly homogenous maturational pathway to psychosis. Neurocognitive deficits have been increasingly recognized as an important dimension of schizophrenia, particularly in the executive domain. Thus, we assessed multiple aspects of executive cognition in 22qDS, in order to: 1) characterize performance across this domain as compared to age-matched healthy controls; and 2) determine whether …