Clinical and cognitive correlates of formal thought disorder in early onset schizophrenia.
OBJECTIVE
Although formal thought disorder and cognitive impairment are key features of schizophrenia, only a few studies evaluated both in adolescent population.


METHODS
32 inpatients with early-onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) and 32 matched healthy controls were studied with Thought, Language and Communication Scale and battery of neurocognitive tests and SSD subjects were also assessed with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Clinical Global Impression Scale.


RESULTS
Patients presented impairment in both cognitive functioning and formal thought processes. Communication disturbances correlated with executive and verbal fluency dysfunction.


CONCLUSIONS
Communication disturbances in adolescent SSD patients may have both dysexecutive and dyssemantic origin.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw, Poland. bremberk@ipin.edu.pl
Barbara
B
Remberk
Irena
I
Namysłowska
Filip
F
Rybakowski
D000293:Adolescent; D017668:Age of Onset; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003147:Communication Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010700:Phonetics; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012660:Semantics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology