THE CORE OF NEGATIVE SYMPTOMS IN SCHIZOPHRENIA - AFFECT OR COGNITIVE DEFICIENCY

The association of negative symptoms on one hand and cognitive failure s and language and thought disturbances on the other hand was examined in 25 schizophrenics and 22 neurotics over a 2-month period of intens ive therapy. Psychopathological negative symptoms were more pronounced in schizophrenics than in neurotics at the first assessment before in tensive therapy. However, cognitive and language performance showed no difference between the groups in both cross-sectional comparisons bef ore and after treatment. Thus, our hypothesis that cognitive deficienc ies are the core of negative symptoms could not be confirmed. It is di scussed that young schizophrenics at an early stage of the illness may imply more affective components in the psychopathology of their negat ive syndrome than chronic schizophrenics with more pronounced cognitiv e deficits.