Previous studies have demonstrated that negative symptoms are regulated by frontal brain regions. We were interested in the relationship between psychiatric symptoms and performance on a verbal fluency (VF) battery in a population of elderly schizophrenic subjects. Thirty-five elderly schizophrenic subjects were administered a neuropsychological battery which included verbal fluency performance and Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). Results showed negative symptoms to be strongly correlated with performance on tasks of VF, which may suggest that negative symptomatology in schizophrenia is related to prefrontal cortical activity. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V, All rights reserved.
机构:
Univ Autonoma Barcelona, Fundacio St Joan de Deu, Bellaterra, Spain
Univ Autonoma Barcelona, Dept Psiquiatria & Med Legal, Fac Med, Bellaterra, SpainUnitat Recerca, Barcelona, Spain