Neurological abnormalities in recent-onset schizophrenia and asperger-syndrome

Dusan Hirjak, Robert Christian Wolf, Sabine C Koch, Laura Mehl, Janna K Kelbel, Katharina Maria Kubera, Tanja Traeger, Thomas Fuchs, Philipp Arthur Thomann, Dusan Hirjak, Robert Christian Wolf, Sabine C Koch, Laura Mehl, Janna K Kelbel, Katharina Maria Kubera, Tanja Traeger, Thomas Fuchs, Philipp Arthur Thomann

Abstract

Background: Neurological abnormalities including a variety of subtle deficits such as discrete impairments in sensory integration, motor coordination (MOCO), and sequencing of complex motor acts are frequently found in patients with schizophrenia (SZ) and commonly referred to as neurological soft signs (NSS). Asperger-syndrome (AS) is characterized by sensory-motor difficulties as well. However, the question whether the two disorders share a common or a disease-specific pattern of NSS remains unresolved.

Method: A total of 78 age- and education-matched participants [26 patients with recent-onset SZ, 26 individuals with AS, and 26 healthy controls (HC)] were recruited for the study. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs), with age, years of education, and medication included as covariates, were used to examine group differences on total NSS and the five subscale scores. Discriminant analyses were employed to identify the NSS subscales that maximally discriminate between the three groups.

Results: Significant differences among the three groups were found in NSS total score and on the five NSS subscales. The clinical groups differed significantly in the NSS subscale MOCO. The correct discriminant rate between patients with SZ and individuals with AS was 61.5%. The correct discriminant rate was 92.3% between individuals with AS and HC, and 80.8% between SZ patients and HC, respectively.

Conclusion: Our findings provide new evidence for the presence of NSS in AS and lend further support to previously reported difficulties in movement control in this disorder. According to the present results, SZ and AS seem to be characterized by both quantitative and qualitative NSS expression.

Keywords: Asperger-syndrome; NSS; motor abnormalities; recent-onset schizophrenia.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Neurological soft signs total scores and NSS scores on the five subscales among the three groups. The bottom and top of the box represent the first and third quartile, and the band inside the box is the second quartile (the median). The ends of the whiskers indicate the minimum and maximum of the NSS performance. MOCO, motor coordination; COMT, complex motor tasks; IF, integrative functions; RLSO, right/left and spatial orientation; HS, hard signs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Canonical discriminant functions of neurological soft signs (total score, MOCO, and COMT), which are prevalence for patients with AS, schizophrenia, and healthy controls. MOCO, motor coordination; COMT, complex motor tasks.

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