Cognitive impairment in psychotic disorders can include which domains?

• A. Attention, language, memory, executive function
• B. Height and weight
• C. Mood stability
• D. Color vision

Answer: (A)

Cognitive impairment in psychotic disorders involves multiple cognitive domains because the brain dysfunction in these conditions tends to affect several interconnected neural networks. Attention, language, memory, and executive function are central components of cognition and are commonly disrupted in psychosis, reflecting problems with sustaining focus, understanding and producing language, encoding and retrieving information, and planning or adapting behavior. Attention deficits can hinder how information is processed and learned, memory problems (including working memory and verbal/visual memory) impact recall and learning, language difficulties affect communication and comprehension, and executive dysfunction undermines planning, flexibility, and inhibition. These domains are frequently assessed in neurocognitive batteries for psychotic disorders and are sensitive to the cognitive profile seen in conditions like schizophrenia. The other options do not reflect cognitive domains: height and weight are physical measurements; mood stability pertains to affective symptoms rather than cognitive processes; color vision is a basic sensory function not typically altered by psychotic cognitive impairment. Therefore, the listed domains best capture the cognitive impairments associated with psychotic disorders.