scholarly journals The role of cognitive-developmental tests in differential diagnosis of borderline and schizophrenic patients

Psihologija ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-154
Author(s):  
Gordana Vulevic ◽  
Goran Opacic

The aim of our research was to find out whether cognitive-developmental tests such as Nominal Realism Test and Vygotsky Concept Formation Test could contribute to the process of diagnosing borderline and schizophrenic patients. The specific aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic power of subtests (such as Vocabulary, Comprehension, Similarities and Picture Arrangement Test) on Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (VITI) in the differential diagnosis of the two groups of patients. The study included 90 subjects, 30 of whom were diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), 30 had the diagnosis of schizophrenic psychosis (SCH), while 30, who had no psychiatric diagnosis, represented the control group. The findings indicate that the patients with BPD, and particularly those diagnosed with SCH, had both quantitative and qualitative cognitive impairment. The findings show that cognitive developmental tests represent valuable tools in the differential diagnosis of borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia.

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-191
Author(s):  
A. Chepeliuk ◽  
M.G. Vinogradova

The aim of present research was to investigate the performance of visual perceptual tasks with varying the degree of uncertainty and levels of regulation prescribed by vague, verbal and non-verbal instructions. The modified Witkin test and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, a revised form (WAIS-R) were used. 36 anankastic personality disorder patients (mean age-31,9±9,8 years), 38 schizophrenic patients (pseudoneurotic type, mean age 30,8±8,7 years) and 100 healthy controls (mean age 27,5±8,5 years) were enrolled to the study. It was established that the effectiveness of the performance of visual perceptive tasks in conditions of vague instruction did not differ among the subjects of all three groups. The introduction of additional verbal instruction increased the performance of healthy subjects and patients with anankastic personality disorder, in contrast to patients with schizophrenia. In conditions of nonverbal instruction, the effectiveness of performing was reduced in clinical and control groups, but the parameters of healthy subjects were significantly higher (р≤0,05). It was found in schizophrenia an increase in the number and strength of the correlation between the indices of the performance of visual perceptual tasks and the non-verbal parameters of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moustafa Mohamed Mohamed Abdo ◽  
Ahmed Saad Mohamed ◽  
Marwa Abd Elmeguid Hammed ◽  
Reem Elsayed Hashem ◽  
Zeinab Mohamed El Nagar

Abstract Background Theory of mind (ToM) is one of the essential components of social cognition. Affective ToM enables us to interpret other’s feelings and behaviors. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and schizophrenia are two distinct mental disorders, yet they have a mutual deficit in interpreting emotions, thoughts, and intentions which may lead to a higher incidence of suicidality. Studies that involved social cognition, particularly ToM in schizophrenia, or BPD have controversial results. Therefore, this study aimed at comparing affective ToM functioning in female patients with BPD, schizophrenia, and healthy controls. In addition, identifying the possible impact and any correlation exists between the affective ToM and liability for suicide in those patients. Sixty individuals were recruited from the Institute of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt, and assigned into 3 groups where group A involved 20 BPD patients, group B involved 20 schizophrenic patients, and group C were healthy persons as a control. Assessment of affective ToM was done using Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), and probability of suicide was measured using Suicide Probability Scale (SPS). Results Regarding ToM, the three groups were assessed using RMET and the results revealed a significantly higher mean score (hypermentalization) in BPD patients than both schizophrenic patients and controls. While schizophrenic patients had significantly lower mean scores than the control group (hypomentalization). As well, BPD patients had a significantly higher suicide probability total score than Schizophrenic patients and in all subdomains except for the hostility subdomain that was significantly higher in schizophrenic patients. Interestingly, in BPD, the suicide probability total score was positively correlated with RMET. Conclusions BPD patients have enhanced affective ToM and hypermentalization that is significantly associated with increased suicide probability in those patients, while in schizophrenia, hypomentalization could not be linked to increased suicide probability. Rehabilitation and proper management of ToM abnormalities might be a crucial tool in suicide prevention in mental illnesses, particularly, BPD.


1992 ◽  
Vol 161 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Crawford ◽  
J. A. O. Besson ◽  
M. Bremner ◽  
K. P. Ebmeier ◽  
R. H. B. Cochrane ◽  
...  

To determine whether the National Adult Reading Test (NART) would provide a valid estimate of premorbid intelligence in schizophrenia, two schizophrenic samples were recruited, one consisting of 35 patients resident in long-stay wards, the other of 29 patients normally resident in the community. Schizophrenic patients were individually matched for age, sex, and education with a healthy, normal subject. Both schizophrenic samples scored significantly lower on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) than their respective control groups. NART-estimated IQ did not differ significantly between the community-resident schizophrenics and their controls, suggesting that the NART provides a valid means of estimating premorbid intelligence in such a population. NART-estimated IQ was significantly lower in the long-stay sample than in their controls. Although low NART scores in this latter sample could be a valid reflection of low premorbid IQ, the alternative explanation that NART performance was impaired by onset of the disease cannot be ruled out.


2007 ◽  
Vol 190 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose L. Carrasco ◽  
Marina Díaz-Marsá ◽  
Jose I. Pastrana ◽  
Rosa Molina ◽  
Loreto Brotons ◽  
...  

SummaryHypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis sensitivity was investigated in 32 non-medicated patients with borderline personality disorder without comorbid post-traumatic syndromes and in 18 normal individuals using a modified dexamethasone suppression test (0.25 mg). Enhanced cortisol suppression was found in the patients v. controls (P < 0.05) and the percentage of participant's with non-suppression was smaller in the patient (34%) than in the control group (89%) (P < 0.01). Baseline cortisol levels in the patients were also lower than in the controls (P < 0.05). The 0.25 mg dexamethasone suppression test reveals increased feedback inhibition of the HPA in borderline personality disorder.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 1428-1435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliette Salles ◽  
Jérémie Pariente ◽  
Laurent Schmitt ◽  
Dominique Lauque ◽  
Thomas Lanot ◽  
...  

Study hypothesis: In cases where patients attempt suicide through intentional self-poisoning, they often ingest drugs such as benzodiazepines that alter the central nervous system and memory. This is problematic, given that experts recommend the recovery of a patient’s cognitive capacity before any psychiatric assessment is conducted. A previous pilot study by our group showed that cognitive tests focusing on attention are the most valuable when it comes to determining whether sufficient cognitive recovery has occurred to ensure that patients will remember the assessment after intentional self-poisoning with benzodiazepines. The main aim of our study was to determine cognitive predictors of the recall of the psychiatric assessment after a suicide attempt. The second aim was to determine the threshold for episodic memory. Methods: We recruited 97 patients admitted for intentional self-poisoning. At the time of the psychiatric assessments, we quantified plasma benzodiazepine levels and performed a cognitive assessment. We then used a linear regression model to identify the associations in a control and a benzodiazepine group between cognitive functions and episodic memory scores obtained 24 hours after psychiatric assessment. Results: Our model accounted for 28% and 37%, respectively, of the variance in memory in the control and benzodiazepine groups. The most significant correlations were found for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale coding test in both groups. In the control group, tests such as visual and verbal memory were also associated with recall. Conclusions: Benzodiazepines particularly affect memory by impairing what is remembered of attentional tests. These are, however, the most suitable cognitive tests for predicting recall of the memory assessment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 394-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara R. Masland ◽  
Jill M. Hooley

Individuals with borderline personality disorder and subclinical borderline features perceive others as untrustworthy (e.g., Fertuck, Grinband, & Stanley, 2013). Trust difficulties may be influenced by emotional state and are formally articulated in the diagnostic criteria for the disorder as temporary state-dependent paranoia. The current study examines the influence of emotional information on trustworthiness appraisals. Seventy-seven community adults, ranging in age from 18 to 70 (M = 31.53, SD = 14.01), with three or more borderline personality disorder symptoms (n = 30) or two or fewer symptoms (n = 47), completed an affective priming paradigm. They were exposed to negative, neutral, or positive information before rating the trustworthiness of unfamiliar faces. Individuals with borderline pathology made more untrusting appraisals regardless of prime, and they were more greatly influenced by negative primes relative to the control group. Findings suggest that biased trustworthiness appraisal is a replicable and consistent finding for individuals with borderline pathology, and that emotional context, even if unrelated to the appraisal at hand, has undue influence.


Author(s):  
Ellen N. Jopling ◽  
Sarosh Khalid-Khan ◽  
Shivani F. Chandrakumar ◽  
Shira C. Segal

Abstract With an estimated lifetime prevalence as high as 5.9% in the general population, borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by marked impulsivity as well as difficulties in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects. The burden on the health care system is immense with BPD patients accounting for 10%–20% of the patients in mental health outpatient facilities and 15%–40% in mental health inpatient facilities. Further, while 75%–80% of BPD patients attempt to commit suicide, 10% succeed; this mortality rate exceeds even that of anorexia nervosa which, with a weighted mortality rate of 5.1%, has often been considered to have the highest mortality rate of any mental disorder. In order to provide treatment and to implement preventative measures, a risk profile as well as clinical features must be identified within the adolescent population. This is presently crucial, as the current criteria for BPD are not developmentally focused, and as a result, criteria initially developed for the adult population are being applied in diagnoses of adolescents. A population of adolescents (n=80) between 16 and 19 years of age meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) criteria either for BPD traits (n=46) or for BPD (n=36) were included in a retrospective chart review; a control group consisting of n=30 mood and anxiety control subjects were included to allow for further comparisons. Complex significant differences were discovered between the three groups in the following areas: history of sexual abuse, suicidal ideation, internalizing/externalizing symptoms, interpersonal difficulties, impulsivity, pre-perinatal stress, bullying, substance abuse, anxiety disorders, disruptive disorders, and finally, learning disorders.


2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 736-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martijn Van Heel ◽  
Patrick Luyten ◽  
Celine De Meulemeester ◽  
Dominique Vanwalleghem ◽  
Rudi Vermote ◽  
...  

Extant research suggests that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with impairments in mentalizing, that is, comprehending behavior in terms of underlying mental states. However, the precise nature of these impairments remains unclear. The literature is mixed concerning mental-izing based on external features of others, and specifically facial emotion recognition (FER) in BPD patients. This study investigated FER differences in 79 BPD patients and 79 matched healthy controls using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). The authors also investigated attachment dimensions and childhood trauma in relation to mentalizing based on external features. Results showed that BPD patients performed worse on positive and negative emotions. Furthermore, avoidant attachment was negatively related to FER for neutral emotions, particularly in the control group. Trauma was negatively related to FER at trend level, particularly in BPD patients. The implications for this understanding of mentalizing based on external features in BPD are discussed.


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