Domain Specific Associations between Psychopathology and Neurocognitive Functioning

Background: Neurocognitive dysfunction is a transdiagnostic finding in psychopathology, but relationships among cognitive domains and general and specific psychopathology dimensions remain unclear. This study aimed to examine associations between cognition and psychopathology dimensions in a large youth cohort. Method: The sample (N=9,350; age 8-21 years) was drawn from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort. Data from structured clinical interviews were modeled using bifactor confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), resulting in an overall psychopathology (‘p’) factor score and 6 orthogonal psychopathology dimensions: dysphoria/distress, obsessive-compulsive, behavioral/externalizing, attention deficit/hyperactivity, phobias, and Psychosis. Neurocognitive data were aggregated using correlated-traits CFA into 5 factors: executive functioning, memory, complex cognition, social cognition, and sensorimotor speed. We examined relationships among specific and general psychopathology dimensions and neurocognitive factors. Results: The final model showed both overall and specific associations between cognitive functioning and psychopathology, with acceptable fit (CFI=.91; TLI=.90; RMSEA=.024; SRMR=.054). Overall psychopathology and most psychopathology dimensions were negatively associated with neurocognitive functioning [phobias (p<.0005), behavioral/externalizing (p<.0005), attention deficit/hyperactivity (p<.0005), psychosis (p<.0005 to p<.05)], except for dysphoria/distress and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, which were positively associated with complex cognition (p<.05 and p<.01, respectively). Conclusion: By modeling a broad range of cognitive and psychopathology domains in a large, diverse sample of youth, we found aspects of neurocognitive functioning shared across clinical phenotypes, as well as domain-specific patterns. Findings support transdiagnostic examination of cognitive performance to parse variability in the link between neurocognitive functioning and clinical phenotypes.