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Semantic fluency in schizophrenia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

C.A. Popescu
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Hospitals Nr. 2, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
I.V. Miclutia
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Cluj-Napoca, Romannia
R. Macrea
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Iuliu Hatieganu”, Cluj-Napoca, Romannia
I. Craciun
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Hospitals Nr. 2, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
A. Zaharia
Affiliation:
Psychiatric Hospitals Nr. 2, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Abstract

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Background:

Patients with schizophrenia exhibit various cognitive dysfunctions, most of them rendered evident by language.

Objectives:

The aims of the current study are: to compare the global semantic performance of schizophrenics with those of normal controls and to explore the schizophrenics' semantic network.

Method:

62 schizophrenic patients, admitted to the Second Psychiatric Clinic Cluj, diagnosed according to ICD-10 criteria and 158 healthy controls were evaluated with tasks for semantic fluency (animals, fruits and body parts).

Statistical analysis

The correlation between clinical symptoms, demographic data and the verbal fluency variables has been determined using Pearson's correlations. The data were analysed using ANOVA and for semantic fluency this was followed by multidimensional scaling (MDS).

Results:

Patients with schizophrenia generated fewer words than healthy controls on semantic fluency tasks. The MDS analysis showed that the semantic structure for schizophrenics with hallucinations was more disorganized than that for the schizophrenics without hallucinations. The schizophrenics with hallucinations appeared to lack any organisation or logical associations within their semantic network of animals, fruits or body parts.

Conclusions:

The comparison between schizophrenia patients as a whole and normal controls indicated impaired semantic structure in the patient group, in addition to decreased word production.

Type
Poster Session 1: Schizophrenia and Other Psychosis
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2007
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