Picture description impairment and neurocognition in schizophrenia: A pilot study

Schizophrenia is also manifested in a pattern of impaired speech traditionally considered to reflect thought disorder. This pilot study aimed to investigate the relationship between language impairment and other neurocognitive impairments and psychopathology. The study included 10 patients with schizophrenia (5 males), aged 45.5±12.48 years. They were assessed with the PANSS, scales of disability, and a neuropsychological battery. The experimental condition included four pictures with concrete everyday life content. The statistical analysis included the calculation of Spearman's rho correlation coefficient. Picture description was significantly correlated with the PANSS G. Non-significant but high correlations included the PANSS N, ratings of disability, and the Graphic Sequence test, the Rey figure, and the Stroop test, but there was a lack of correlation with verbal fluency, abstract thinking, and executive function Despite the small study sample, it could be said that the impaired performance in picture description in patients with schizophrenia is not a consequence of disordered thought alone, but also of the existence of a dysfunctional processing of visual information and a problematic translation of it into meaningful mental images.