Neurological frontal signs and neuropsychological deficits in schizophrenic patients

A higher prevalence of neurological signs (NS) has been described in schizophrenic patients when compared with controls or patients with other mental illnesses. This study, which includes a sample of 66 DSM-IIIR schizophrenics, was designed to assess the relationship between 7 frontal neurologic signs described by Luria and cognitive disturbances measured by an exhaustive neuropsychological battery. There was a statistically significant relationships between the frontal signs and the cognitive deficits (mean shared variance was 22%) which persisted after correcting for the influence of age, education, and duration of illness.