Indian Journal of Private Psychiatry

Register      Login

SEARCH WITHIN CONTENT

FIND ARTICLE

Volume / Issue

Online First

Archive
Volume  18 (2024)
Volume  17 (2023)
Volume  16 (2022)
Volume  15 (2021)
Volume  14 (2020)
Volume  13 (2019)
Volume  12 (2018)
Volume  11 (2017)
Related articles

VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 2 ( July-December, 2024 ) > List of Articles

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Soft Neurological Signs in Patients with Chronic Psychiatric Illness in a Rehabilitation Center: A Cross-sectional Study

Bhanu Dahiya, Shashwath Sathyanath, Anil Kakunje

Keywords : Chronic mental illness, Neurological soft signs, Rehabilitation

Citation Information : Dahiya B, Sathyanath S, Kakunje A. Soft Neurological Signs in Patients with Chronic Psychiatric Illness in a Rehabilitation Center: A Cross-sectional Study. Ind J Priv Psychiatry 2024; 18 (2):80-84.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10067-0168

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 26-07-2024

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).


Abstract

Background: Numerous neurological soft signs (NSS), which act as a measure of illness severity, are frequently experienced by the susceptible group of people with chronic mental illnesses. An individual's social functioning may be greatly impacted by NSS, with subsequent long-term effects on their mental health and well-being. However, nothing is known about how common NSS are in the Indian context. Materials and methods: In a rehabilitation facility, 95 randomly chosen participants aged between 18 and 60 participated in a cross-sectional study. Using the neurological evaluation scale (NES), NSS were evaluated. Results: The frequency of neurological soft symptoms did not change by gender (p = 0.916), age (p = 0.304), or literacy (p = 0.067), duration of treatment (p = 0.187), marital status (p = 0.134), age of onset of illness (p = 0.685). However, the NSS scores did differ significantly (p = 0.045) according to the length of the illness in one component of the NES scale. Conclusion: The results were different from those of earlier research in other populations, which found lower prevalence rates for NSS. The study stresses the need for more research to completely understand the complex interactions between NSS and chronic mental illnesses, and also the effects of many environmental factors on their comorbidity.

HTML PDF Share
  1. Kaluzyńska O, Rabe-Jablońska J. Neurological soft signs as a candidate for an endophenotype of schizophrenia. Psychiatr Pol 2014;48(1): 5–18. PMID: 24946431.
  2. Shaffer D, Schonfeld I, O'Connor PA, et al. Neurological soft signs: Their relationship to psychiatric disorder and intelligence in childhood and adolescence. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1985;42(4):342–351. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1985.01790270028003.
  3. Schröder J, Niethammer R, Geider FJ, et al. Neurological soft signs in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Res 1991;6(1):25–30. DOI: 10.1016/0920-9964(91)90017-l.
  4. Chen EY, Shapleske J, Luque R, et al. The Cambridge Neurological Inventory: A clinical instrument for the assessment of soft neurological signs in psychiatric patients. Psychiatry Res 1995;56(2):183–204. DOI: 10.1016/0165-1781(95)02535-2.
  5. Buchanan RW, Heinrichs DW. The Neurological Evaluation Scale (NES): A structured instrument for the assessment of neurological signs in schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 1989;27(3):335–350. DOI: 10.1016/0165-1781(89)90148-0.
  6. Shaffer D, Stokman CS, O'Connor PA, et al. Early soft neurological signs and later psychopathology. In: Life-span research on the prediction of psychopathology. Routledge; 2021. pp. 31–48.
  7. Shaffer D. Soft neurological signs and later psychiatric disorders: A review. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discip 1978;19(1):63–65. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.1978.tb01753.x.
  8. Peters JE, Romine JS, Dykman RA. Special neurological examination of children with learning disabilities. Dev Med Child Neurol 1975;17(1):63–78. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1975.tb04959.x
  9. Wikler A, Dixon JF, Parker Jr JB. Brain function in problem children and controls: psychometric, neurological, and electroencephalographic comparisons. Am J Psychiatry 1970;127(5):634–645. DOI: 10.1176/ajp.127.5.634.
  10. Paulsen K. Reflection-impulsivity and level of maturity. J Psychol 1978;99(1):109–112. DOI: 10.1080/00223980.1978.9921448.
  11. Rutter M, Graham P, Birch HG. Interrelations between the choreiform syndrome, reading disability and psychiatric disorder in children of 8–11 years. Dev Med Child Neurol 1966;8(2):149–159. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1966.tb01720.x.
  12. Wolff PH, Hurwitz I. Functional implications of the minimal brain damage syndrome. Semin Psychiatry 1973;5(1):105–115. PMID: 4803376.
  13. Chan RCK, Xu T, Heinrichs RW, et al. Neurological soft signs in schizophrenia: A meta-analysis. Schizophr Bull 2010;36(6):1089–1104. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbp011.
  14. Bolton D, Gibb W, Lees A, et al. Neurological soft signs in obsessive compulsive disorder: Standardised assessment and comparison with schizophrenia. Behav Neurol 1998;11(4): 197–204. DOI: 10.1155/1999/639045.
  15. Jaafari N, Baup N, Bourdel MC, et al. Neurological soft signs in OCD patients with early age at onset, versus patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2011;23(4):409–416. DOI: 10.1176/jnp.23.4.jnp409.
  16. Boks MPM, Liddle PF, Burgerhof JGM, et al. Neurological soft signs discriminating mood disorders from first episode schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2004;110(1):29–35. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2004.00298.x.
  17. Boks MP, Russo S, Knegtering R, et al. The specificity of neurological signs in schizophrenia: A review. Schizophr Res 2000;43(2–3):109–116. DOI: 10.1016/s0920-9964(99)00145-0.
  18. Weinberger DR. Implications of normal brain development for the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1987;44(7): 660–669. DOI: 10.1001/archpsyc.1987.01800190080012.
  19. Insel TR. Rethinking schizophrenia. Nature 2010;468(7321):187–193. DOI: 10.1038/nature09552.
  20. Bigdeli TB, Neale BM, Neale MC. Statistical properties of single-marker tests for rare variants. Twin Res Hum Genet 2014;17(3):143–150. DOI: 10.1017/thg.2014.17.
  21. Urbanowitsch N, Degen C, Toro P, et al. Neurological soft signs in aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease – The impact of cognitive decline and cognitive reserve. Front Psychiatry 2015;6:12. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00012.
  22. Chan RCK, Xie W, Geng FL, et al. Clinical utility and lifespan profiling of neurological soft signs in Schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Schizophr Bull 2016;42(3):560–570. DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbv196.
  23. Thomas N, Tharyan P. Soft neurological signs in drug-free people with Schizophrenia with and without obsessive-compulsive symptoms. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2011;23(1):68–73. DOI: 10.1176/jnp. 23.1.jnp68.
  24. Gunasekaran V, Venkatesh VMK, Asokan TV. A study of soft neurological signs and its correlates in drug-naive patients with first episode psychosis. Indian J Psychol Med 2016;38(5):408–413. DOI: 10.4103/0253-7176.191393.
  25. Biswas S, Ghosh SK. Gross morphological changes of placentas associated with intrauterine growth restriction of fetuses: A case control study. Early Hum Dev 2008;84(6):357–362. DOI: 10.1016/j.earlhumdev.2007.09.017.
  26. Zhao Q, Ma YT, Lui SSY, et al. Neurological soft signs discriminate schizophrenia from major depression but not bipolar disorder. Prog Neuro-Psychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2013;43:72–78. DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2012.12.006.
  27. Janssen J, Diaz-Caneja A, Reig S, et al. Brain morphology and neurological soft signs in adolescents with first-episode psychosis. Br J Psychiatry 2009;195(3):227–233. DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.108.052738.
  28. Mittal VA, Hasenkamp W, Sanfilipo M, et al. Relation of neurological soft signs to psychiatric symptoms in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2007;94(1–3):37–44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2007.04.017.
  29. Dazzan P, Murray RM. Neurological soft signs in first-episode psychosis: A systematic review. Br J Psychiatry Suppl 2002;181(S43):s50–57. DOI: 10.1192/bjp.181.43.s50.
  30. Venkatasubramanian G, Latha V, Gangadhar BN, et al. Neurological soft signs in never-treated schizophrenia. Acta Psychiatr Scand 2003;108(2): 144–146. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2003.00113.x.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.