Neurological soft signs in schizophrenia and obsessive compulsive disorder spectrum

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Tumkaya ◽  
F. Karadag ◽  
N.K. Oguzhanoglu

AbstractObsessive compulsive symptoms are more frequent in patients with schizophrenia compared to normal population. Patients with obsessive compulsive disorder may also exhibit psychosis-like symptoms. Based on these findings, it has been suggested that there is a spectrum of disorders between OCD and schizophrenia. We compared two OCD groups (with good and poor insight) and two schizophrenia groups (with and without OCD) in this recommended spectrum especially in terms of neurological soft signs (NSSs) associated with sensory integration. The schizophrenia with OCD (schizo-obsessive) group exhibited worse performance than the schizophrenia group (p = 0.002) in only graphesthesia tasks. Moreover, schizo-obsessive patients exhibited worse performance compared to OCD patients in terms of graphesthesia (p = 0.001) and audiovisual integration (p = 0.001). Interestingly, OCD patients with poor insight tended to exhibit graphesthesia deficit in a similar manner to schizo-obsessive patients rather than OCD patients. According to our results, graphesthesia disorder is strongly associated both with OCD and schizophrenia. This suggests that neurodevelopmental disorders that lead to graphesthesia disorder overlap in comorbid OCD and schizophrenia patients.

1999 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 197-204 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bolton ◽  
W. Gibb ◽  
A. Lees ◽  
P. Raven ◽  
J. A. Gray ◽  
...  

While several studies have detected raised levels of neurological soft signs in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), the specificity of these abnormalities remains uncertain. This study used a new standardised measure, the Cambridge Neurological Inventory (CNI), to assess soft signs in 51 subjects with OCD. Comparison was made with data on patients with schizophrenia and a non-clinical control group from a previously reported study. Individuals with OCD showed raised levels of soft signs compared with non-clinical controls in many categories of the CNI: Motor Coordination, Sensory Integration, Primitive Reflexes, Extrapyramidal Signs, and Failure of Suppression. Compared with patients with schizophrenia, the OCD group had lower levels of neurological signs in some CNI categories: Hard Signs, Motor Co-ordination, Tardive Dyskinesia, Catatonic Signs, and Extrapyramidal Signs. However, levels of soft signs in the OCD group did not significantly differ from those in the schizophrenia group in other CNI categories: Sensory Integration, Primitive Reflexes and Failure of Suppression. The significance of these patterns of findings is discussed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle A. Einstein ◽  
Ross G. Menzies ◽  
Tamsen St Clare ◽  
Juliette Drobny ◽  
Fjola Dogg Helgadottir

AbstractData collected from clinical populations indicate that magical ideation (MI) may play a causal or a mediating role in the expression of obsessive compulsive symptoms. If this is the case then when targeted in treatment, symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) should be altered. Two individuals diagnosed with OCD received a trial treatment targeting magical thinking. The intervention consisted of a series of procedures designed to undermine superstitious/MI without targeting obsessions or compulsions. The procedures involved critical analysis of the following material: (1) a free astrology offer; (2) a horoscope prediction exercise; (3) a description of four different cultural explanations of the origin of fire; (4) an instructive guide for Tarot card readers; (5) a report of a UFO sighting; (6) a video-clip describing a cult festival; (7) a description of a ‘hoax’ channeler and (8) a superstition exercise. Measures of obsessive compulsive symptoms, superstition, MI and thought–action fusion were administered pre-treatment, post-treatment and at 3 months’ follow-up. According to the twofold criterion of Jacobson et al. (Behaviour Therapy 1984, 15, 336–352), following treatment the patients were identified as being recovered on measures of magical and superstitious thinking and on the Padua Inventory.


CNS Spectrums ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 607-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Cruz-Fuentes ◽  
Claudia Blas ◽  
Laura Gonzalez ◽  
Beatriz Camarena ◽  
Humberto Nicolini

ABSTRACT:Objective:The present study examined the psychobiological Temperament and Character model of personality on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) patients, as well as the relation of temperament and/or character dimensions on the severity of obsessive-compubive symptoms.Methods:Fifty-four subjects diagnosed with OCD, were assessed with the Temperament and Character Inventory, the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive scale and the Hamilton Rating Scales for depression and anxiety.Results:Compared with controls, OCD subjects displayed increased harm avoidance and lower self-directedness and cooperativeness. Low self-directedness and high Hamilton depression scores were associated with increased severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms.Conclusions:The Temperament and Character profile of OCD patients characterized in the present stud personality model and can be linked to some of their behavioral features. Furthermore, our data provides support of the influence that some personality traits may have on the severity of OCD symptoms.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 90
Author(s):  
Parivash Moshfegh ◽  
Shahla Akouchekian ◽  
Victoria Omranifard ◽  
MohammadReza Maracy ◽  
Asiyeh Almasi

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 145-145
Author(s):  
P. Chorot ◽  
B. Sandin ◽  
M.A. Santed ◽  
R.M. Valiente ◽  
M. Olmedo ◽  
...  

Introduction and aimsBoth anxiety sensitivity (AS) and negative affect (NA) are significant general predictors of anxiety disorders, including the obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD; Taylor, 1999). Recently, our group reported preliminary findings suggesting that disgust sensitivity was able to predict OCD symptoms, particularly contamination obsessions and washing compulsions, when controlling for AS and NA (Sandín et al., 2008). The present study examines whether disgust domains of the Cuestionario de Sensibilidad al Asco (CSA) [Disgust Sensitivity Questionnaire] predict obsessive-compulsive symptoms above and beyond AS and NA.MethodA sample of undergraduates completed the CSA (see Valiente et al.), the Padua Inventory-Whasington State University Revision (Burns et al., 1996), the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-3 (Taylor et al., 2007; Sandín et al., 2007), and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson et al., 1988, Sandín et al., 1999).ResultsHierarchic regression analysis revealed that CSA was a better predictor of contamination obsessions and washing compulsions than anxiety sensitivity and negative affect. Also, CSA domains predicted differentially each obsessive-compulsive dimension.ConclusionsContamination-based OCD symptoms appears to be particularly associated to disgust sensitivity, specially with the CSA dimension of hygiene (it includes items such as “Seeing someone spit”, Touching the clothes of a beggar or homeless”). Assuming that contamination-based OCD is a very prevalent type of OCD, future studies on implication of this dimension in its development and/or maintenance is warranted.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 992-992
Author(s):  
Gregory L. Hanna ◽  
James T. MCCracken ◽  
Dennis P. Cantwell

Basal prolactin concentrations were measured before treatment in 18 children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder as well as in 15 of these patients after 4 and 8 weeks of clomipramine treatment. Basal prolactin levels were influenced by a history of chronic tic disorder and by the duration and severity of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Clomipramine administration significantly increased basal prolactin levels. A slight decline in prolactin levels during the last 4 weeks of clomipramine treatment was positively correlated with a favorable treatment response and negatively correlated with duration of illness. If the changes in prolactin levels observed during clomipramine treatment are due primarily to changes in serotonergic neurotransmission, these data suggest that clomipramine treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder produces an adaptive decrease in the responsiveness of serotonergic receptors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-67
Author(s):  
A Jha ◽  
D Joshi

Obsessive-compulsive disorder/ symptoms may be co-morbid in schizophrenia. The clinical impact of this co-morbidity is poor response to anti-psychotic medications. We present a case of 35 yr old female who presented with symptoms suggestive of schizophrenia and later co-morbid obsessive symptom responded well to addition of fluoxetine to antipsychotics. This case study reveals that the identification and treatment of OCD in schizophrenia is very crucial for optimistic outcome.


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