[Processing of contextual syntactic information in a decision making task in schizophrenic subjects].
OBJECTIVE
This research report studies how schizophrenic subjects process contextual syntactic information using a double-decision lexical task (deciding whether or not strings of letters form French words). Given the automatic nature of syntax, we are assuming the preservation of syntactical information processing in all the schizophrenic subjects, including those presenting thought disorder (TFP), which we name schizophrenic TPF+.


METHODS
Twenty control subjects and 20 schizophrenic subjects (including 10 TFP+ schizophrenic subjects) participated in a double-decision lexical task containing syntactic errors.


RESULTS
The results confirm our hypothesis because we show that all subjects (control and schizophrenic) are hampered in recognizing words when they contain grammatical errors.


CONCLUSIONS
The results contrast with data on the processing of contextual semantic information by schizophrenic subjects, since the data in the literature conclude that there is an information-processing anomaly on the part of these patients. As a result, our study refutes the hypothesis of a generalized difficulty in the processing context by schizophrenic subjects.
Besche
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Equipe de Recherche sur la Pratique Clinique, Université de Paris 8, Saint-Denis, France.
Passerieux
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Segui
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J
Mesure
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Hardy-Baylé
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MC
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology