Pre-morbid psychopathology in schizophrenia spectrum

Article Abstract:

As part of an ongoing study of which personality factors might best predict the later development of schizophrenia, 207 children of schizophrenic mothers were examined by a psychiatrist who rated their behavior and mental status. The average age of the children was 15 years. A school behavior questionnaire was completed by each child's primary teacher. Ten years later, a diagnostic follow-up of 175 of the children included a comprehensive interview and a test of current and past psychopathology. Fifteen subjects were diagnosed as schizophrenic and 29 were diagnosed as schizotypal (evidencing some characteristics of schizophrenia). The premorbid characteristics (those evident prior to the onset of any psychopathology) of the these 44 subjects were then compared with those of 76 subjects diagnosed with personality disorders or neuroses and 55 subjects diagnosed as being mentally intact. The schizophrenia spectrum group had significantly higher premorbid ratings of peculiarity (e.g., awkwardness, giddiness and eccentricity) and paranoia (e.g., hostility, distrustfulness, rigidity, and formality). Introversion, schizoid classroom behavior (silence, uncomfortability and passivity) and classroom-disturbing behavior (becoming easily upset and excitable, dominating, aggressive and difficult to discipline) did not discriminate between the three groups. The children who grew up to be mentally intact had significantly lower scores than both other groups on paranoia scales. The only significant differences between children who became schizotypal and children who became schizophrenic were that preschizophrenics scored higher on classroom-disturbing behavior and had low extroversion scores. Findings suggest that peculiarity and paranoia are the best predictors of a child's eventually developing schizophrenic spectrum disorders. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Behavior disorders in children, Childhood mental disorders

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Three syndromes in chronic schizophrenia

Article Abstract:

Relationships between the negative symptoms of schizophrenia (e.g., flat emotions, poverty of speech and slowed movements) and brain abnormalities were investigated in a series of studies. One study evaluating the symptoms of 40 schizophrenic patients found three distinguishable but overlapping syndromes: psychomotor poverty (negative symptoms); disorganization (thought disorder and inappropriate emotions); and reality distortion (delusions and hallucinations). A follow-up investigation found that each syndrome was associated with specific neuropsychological impairments. Negative symptoms were associated with deficits in abstract thinking and long-term memory; disorganization was associated with poor attention span; and reality distortion exhibited a slight association with perceptual impairment. The first two syndromes were found to be related to sensory information processing and motor coordination deficits, which are both frontal lobe disturbances, while the reality distortion syndrome was linked to temporal lobe disorder. Another study evaluated the symptoms of long-term, severely disturbed schizophrenic patients and found three identical syndromes. The patients then took tests to assess frontal lobe function. Again, negative and disorganization syndromes were both associated with frontal lobe impairment. Psychomotor poverty was found to be related to decreased verbal fluency and impaired recognition, while the disorganization syndrome was related to decreased verbal fluency and attention deficits. The reality distortion syndrome was not found to be related to frontal lobe impairment. In conjunction with animal research findings, these findings suggest that schizophrenic symptoms are related to prefrontal cortex or temporal lobe abnormalities. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Temporal lobes, Frontal lobes

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Handedness and epileptic schizophrenia

Article Abstract:

Left-handedness seems to be over-represented in epileptics, and speculation on the reason for this has been made for decades. One popular theory is that epileptics have suffered damage to the left hemisphere of the brain, causing a shift in dominance to the right side. The right side of the brain controls the left side of the body. Left-handedness has also been associated with the development of psychoses, such as schizophrenia, in epileptics. To study the prevalence of this relationship, 32 epileptics who met diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia were identified and compared with 22 epileptic patients who were diagnosed with depression, 31 schizophrenics without evidence of epilepsy, and 19 epileptics with no psychiatric history. Only five of the 32 epileptic schizophrenics were either of mixed handedness or left-handed; members of this group were no more likely to be of mixed handedness or left-handed than members of the other three groups. Males schizophrenics who were epileptic had a lower prevalence of left- or mixed-handedness than women in the same group. This is consistent with other studies that have found that male epileptics who are left- or mixed-handed are less likely to develop psychiatric illness than right-handed or female members of the same population. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Epilepsy, Left- and right-handedness, Handedness

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