Neurological soft signs discriminating mood disorders from first episode schizophrenia

Objective:  To investigate the specificity of neurological soft signs (NSS) for first episode schizophrenia compared with mood disorders. Method:  We assessed NSS in a sample of 60 healthy controls, 191 first episode psychosis patients and 81 mood disorder patients. We used a principle component ana...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica 2004-07, Vol.110 (1), p.29-35
Main Authors: Boks, M. P. M., Liddle, P. F., Burgerhof, J. G. M., Knegtering, R., van den Bosch, R.-J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adult and adolescent clinical studies
antipsychotic agents
Ataxia - etiology
Biological and medical sciences
Case-Control Studies
Catatonia - etiology
cerebellum
eye movement
Female
Humans
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
mood disorders
Mood Disorders - diagnosis
Mood Disorders - psychology
movement disorders
Movement Disorders - etiology
Neurologic Examination
neurologic signs
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
psychomotor performance
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Psychoses
Reflex, Abnormal
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - complications
Schizophrenia - diagnosis
Schizophrenia - physiopathology
Schizophrenic Psychology
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Summary:Objective:  To investigate the specificity of neurological soft signs (NSS) for first episode schizophrenia compared with mood disorders. Method:  We assessed NSS in a sample of 60 healthy controls, 191 first episode psychosis patients and 81 mood disorder patients. We used a principle component analysis to identify dimensions of NSS. We subsequently investigated the specificity of these dimensions for schizophrenia and their relationships with medication and symptom scores. Results:  We identified five dimensions; coordination disorders, movement disorders, increased reflexes, dyskinesia and catatonia. These dimensions were related to neural circuits associated with schizophrenia and mood disorders and included the fronto‐striatal‐thalamic and the fronto‐cerebellar pathway. The movement disorder dimension, which was suggestive for the involvement of the fronto‐striatal‐thalamic pathway, was specific for first episode schizophrenia independent from medication. Conclusion:  NSS are the result of circuitry dysfunctions rather than overall dysfunction and a particular set of NSS shows specificity for schizophrenia.
ISSN:0001-690X
1600-0447
DOI:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2004.00298.x