[Testing of the Russian-language version of the Thought, Language and Communication Scale]

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Context:

• Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder often preceded by a prodromal phase with attenuated schizophrenic symptoms (ASS).
• Early identification of cognitive and thought disorders is crucial for timely intervention in individuals at clinical high-risk for schizophrenia.
• Depressive episodes in adolescents can sometimes mask or co-occur with early signs of psychosis.

Purpose:

• To evaluate the efficacy of the Russian version of the Thought, Language and Communication Scale (TLC) in detecting early thought disorders.
• To differentiate thought disorganization not solely attributable to depression in adolescents at clinical high-risk for schizophrenia.
• To assess the utility of the TLC scale as a screening tool for prodromal schizophrenia.

Summary:

• The study compared thought impairment severity using the TLC scale in 30 adolescent males with first depressive episodes and ASS (clinical high-risk group) against 27 healthy controls.
• The clinical high-risk group exhibited significantly higher TLC scores (median 20 vs 10.5, p<0.001), with notable differences in incoherence, tangentiality, derailment, illogical thinking, loss of goal, and blocking.
• These findings indicate specific thought disorganization in the clinical group, suggesting the early stages of an endogenous schizophrenic process.

Impact:

• The Russian TLC scale demonstrates potential as a valuable tool for the early recognition of cognitive and thought disorders in adolescents at clinical high-risk for schizophrenia.
• This facilitates earlier diagnosis and intervention, potentially improving long-term outcomes for individuals at risk of developing schizophrenia.
• The study contributes to understanding the prodromal phase of schizophrenia and the role of specific linguistic and cognitive markers.