Relationship between neuropsychological performance and soft neurological indications in individuals with schizophrenia

Abstract

Neurological soft signs (NSS) are mild motor and sensory abnormalities that are often detected in a variety of mental diseases, including schizophrenia. These deficiencies can be found in people who have the disorder. NSS are commonly related with a decline in cognitive capacities and a worsening of neuropsychological function in patients with schizophrenia (NP). Our goal was to investigate whether or if there is a connection between the NSS and NP in people who have schizophrenia. The inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to select sixty people for the study, thirty of whom had schizophrenia based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, and the remaining thirty were matched controls. In addition to gathering demographic and clinical information, tests for determining neuropsychological status and neurosocial functioning (NSS) were given to the patient. A comparison was carried out between the two groups using the results that were obtained on these scales. Results showed that individuals with schizophrenia had a prevalence of NSS of one hundred percent, while only 16.775% of controls in the control group had NSS. In terms of neuropsychological evaluation, there was a difference that might be considered statistically significant between the two groups. Within Group 1, the NSS demonstrated a statistically significant inverse connection with the Tower of London, the Stroop Color Word Test, the Digit Vigilance Test, and the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. On the other hand, there was no connection found between NP and NSS in Group 2. NSS were found to be significantly higher in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia compared to healthy normal controls. In addition, in contrast to the group serving as a control, those who have schizophrenia have an inverse relationship between NSS and NP. It is possible for us to draw the conclusion that the existence of NSS not only predicts a low NP but also adds to the low cognitive abilities of those who have schizophrenia. Tower of London, motor sequencing, the Digit Symbol Substitution Test, neurological performance, neuropsychological evaluation, and the Stroop test are some of the keywords that might be associated with this article.