Cognitive impairment in the schizophrenia spectrum: What is the evidence for similarity to schizophrenia?

Cognitive dysfunction is a core component of schizophrenia and is strongly related to functional outcome. Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) appears closely linked to schizophrenia in terms of biology, phenomenology, outcome, and treatment response. Individuals with SPD demonstrate a similar pattern of cognitive deficits, albeit with less severity in most areas, to individuals with schizophrenia, with core impairments in working memory, context processing, and processing capacity. The validity of the SPD cognitive profile is thus discussed in terms of these areas of impairment that are as great as those in schizophrenia, which lends support to the relationship between schizophrenia and SPD.