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Psychopharmacology (2006) 187:312320DOI 10.1007/s00213-006-0428-xORIGINAL INVESTIGATIONThe neurocognitive effects of aripiprazole: an open-label
comparison with olanzapineRobert S. Kern & Michael F. Green &Barbara A. Cornblatt & J. Randall Owen &Robert D. McQuade & William H. Carson & Mirza Ali &Ron MarcusReceived: 26 November 2005 / Accepted: 3 May 2006 / Published online: 30 June 2006
# Springer-Verlag 2006AbstractRationale Cognitive deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia. As a target of intervention, improvements in
cognition may lead to improvements in functional outcome.Objectives The present paper is the first report, to our knowledge, on the neurocognitive effects of aripiprazole. Unlike
other second-generation antipsychotics, aripiprazole is a D2
and D3 receptor partial agonist. It is unknown what effects this
unusual pharmacological profile may yield on neurocognition.
Materials and methods The present open-label study
included data on 169 patients with schizophrenia or
schizoaffective disorder who were randomly treated with
aripiprazole or olanzapine. Subjects received a neurocognitive battery at baseline, week 8, and 26.Results The aripiprazole group had a significantly greater
dropout rate than the olanzapine group. Neurocognitive data
were reduced through a principal components analysis that
yielded a three-factor solution. The factors were general
cognitive functioning, executive functioning, and verbal
learning. For general cognitive functioning, both groups
improved from baseline and the effects were relatively stable
over the 26-week protocol. There were no differential
treatment effects. For executive functioning, neither group
improved significantly from baseline. For verbal learning,
the aripiprazole group improved significantly from baseline
to the 8th and 26th week of assessment, and there was a
between-group effect favoring aripiprazole over olanzapine
that was largely attributable to the differences in performance
within the 8th week. Separate analyses were conducted for a
measure of sustained attention (Continuous Performance
TestIdentical Pairs). There were no differential treatment
effects on this measure.Conclusions The findings from this open-label study
suggest that the neurocognitive effects of aripiprazole are
at least as good as those of olanzapine.Keywords Schizophrenia . Aripiprazole . Olanzapine .
Neurocognition . Learning . Memory . Dopamine . AgonistsR. S. Kern : M. F. GreenDepartment of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences,
Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA,Los Angeles, CA, USAR. S. Kern (*)VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare Center (MIRECC 210A),
11301 Wilshire Boulevard,Los Angeles, CA 90073, USAe-mail: [email protected]. S. Kern : M. F. GreenDepartment of...