Author |
Berberian, Arthur de Almeida
![]() ![]() Moraes, Giovanna V. ![]() Gadelha, Ary ![]() ![]() Brietzke, Elisa ![]() ![]() Fonseca, Ana O. ![]() ![]() Scarpato, Bruno Sini ![]() ![]() Vicente, Marcella de Oliveira ![]() ![]() Seabra, Alessandra G. ![]() Bressan, Rodrigo Affonseca ![]() ![]() Lacerda, Acioly Luiz Tavares de ![]() ![]() |
Abstract | Objective: To investigate if verbal fluency impairment in schizophrenia reflects executive function deficits or results from degraded semantic store or inefficient search and retrieval strategies. Method: Two groups were compared: 141 individuals with schizophrenia and 119 healthy age and education-matched controls. Both groups performed semantic and phonetic verbal fluency tasks. Performance was evaluated using three scores, based on 1) number of words generated 2) number of clustered/ related words and 3) switching score. A fourth performance score based on the number of clusters was also measured. Results: Individuals with schizophrenia produced fewer words than controls. After controlling for the total number of words produced, a difference was observed between the groups in the number of cluster-related words generated in the semantic task. In both groups, the number of words generated in the semantic task was higher than that generated in the phonemic task, although a significant group vs. fluency type interaction showed that subjects with schizophrenia had disproportionate semantic fluency impairment. Working memory was positively associated with increased production of words within clusters and inversely correlated with switching. Conclusion: Semantic fluency impairment may be attributed to an inability (resulting from reduced cognitive control) to distinguish target signal from competing noise and to maintain cues for production of memory probes. |
Keywords |
Psychosis
schizophrenia cognitive neuroscience chronic psychiatric illness language |
xmlui.dri2xhtml.METS-1.0.item-coverage | Sao Paulo |
Language | English |
Sponsor | Fundacao de Amparo e Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) |
Grant number |
|
Date | 2016 |
Published in | Revista Brasileira De Psiquiatria. Sao Paulo, v. 38, n. 2, p. 121-126, 2016. |
ISSN | 1516-4446 (Sherpa/Romeo, impact factor) |
Publisher | Assoc Brasileira Psiquiatria |
Extent | 121-126 |
Origin |
|
Access rights | Open access ![]() |
Type | Article |
Web of Science ID | WOS:000378234800005 |
SciELO ID | S1516-44462016000200121 (statistics in SciELO) |
URI | https://repositorio.unifesp.br/handle/11600/56088 |
Name:
S1516-44462016000200121.pdf
Size: 481.0Kb Format: PDF Description: |
Open file |