Cognitive deficits are a core feature of schizophrenia, and patients with schizophrenia demonstrate deficits, early in the course of the illness, in most domains of cognitive functioning compared to healthy control subjects, suggesting a generalized cognitive impairment. The neuropsychological profile of patients typically consists of deficits in speed of processing, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning and memory, visual learning and memory, reasoning and problem solving, and social cognition (emotion recognition, theory of mind). Cognitive skills have been shown to be associated with the functional status of patients with schizophrenia, and may have a greater influence on outcome than positive or negative symptoms.