Disturbances of language functions have been hypothesized to be central to both the cause and expression of the schizophrenia syndrome (e.g., Crow, 1990, 1997), and may be directly linked to other abnormalities of cognitive function in schizophrenia, including working memory and episodic memory (e.g., Barch, 2005). Several studies have reported moderate impairments of verbal episodic memory and learning in schizophrenia (e.g., Goldberg et al., 1993; Saykin et al., 1991), independent of medication status or chronicity (e.g., Albus et al., 2006; Hill et al., 2004; Saykin et al., 1994).
