Learning and memory impairments are present in schizophrenia (SZ) throughout the illness course (Park and Holzman, 1992, Piskulic et al., 2007) and are a primary predictor of psychosocial function (Green et al., 2000, Sharma and Antonova, 2003, Floresco et al., 2005). The virtual RAM task could help bridge preclinical and clinical research for testing novel drug treatments of SZ. Results provide further support for compromised prefrontal and hippocampal function underlying WM and RM deficits in SZ. Impaired virtual RAM performance in SZ is consistent with studies that examined RAM performance in animal models of SZ. To our knowledge, use of a virtual 8-arm radial maze task in SZ to assess spatial learning is novel. There were no significant relationships between psychiatric symptom severity and maze performance. Whereas RM errors decreased across trials in the SZ group, WM errors did not. It is important to note that the SZ group did learn but did not reach the level of HC.
As expected, subjects with SZ used more time and traveled more distance to retrieve rewards, made more reference (RM) and working memory (WM) errors, and retrieved fewer rewards than HC. Subjects attempted to learn to retrieve four rewards each located in separate arms. Thirty-three subjects with SZ and thirty-nine healthy controls (HC) performed ten trials of a virtual RAM task. The goal of the present study was to investigate spatial learning in SZ using a virtual RAM. The radial arm maze (RAM) is a test of spatial learning and memory in rodents that relies on intact prefrontal and hippocampal function. Abnormalities in prefrontal and hippocampal function are thought to contribute to SZ deficits. Learning and memory impairments are present in schizophrenia (SZ) throughout the illness course and predict psychosocial function.
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