ArticleEuropean archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience2021
Neurological soft signs and cognition in the late course of chronic schizophrenia: a longitudinal study.
Article in European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Cognitive change 5+ years since the onset of a psychotic disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Normative age-related structural brain deviations underlying psychopathology, cognitive impairment and neurological soft signs in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- The Neuropsychology of Chronic Neurological Disorders: A Review of Cognitive and Emotional Impairments.Cureus · 2025Review
- Specific immune-inflammatory profiles and neurocognitive deficits predict illness trajectories in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus or psychiatric disorders.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
- Sensori- and psychomotor abnormalities, psychopathological symptoms and functionality in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders: a network analytic approach.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Deciphering the interplay between psychopathological symptoms, sensorimotor, cognitive and global functioning: a transdiagnostic network analysis.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2024Article
- Article
- Correlates of neurological soft signs in bipolar disorder.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2023Article
- Neurological soft signs are increased in major depressive disorder irrespective of treatment.Journal of neural transmission (Vienna, Austria : 1996) · 2023Article
- Neurological soft signs and structural network changes: a longitudinal analysis in first-episode schizophrenia.BMC psychiatry · 2023Article
- The positive dimension of schizotypy is associated with a reduced attenuation and precision of self-generated touch.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2022Article
- Are Executive Functions Deficits in Early-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia More Severe than in Adult-Onset Chronic Schizophrenia?Clinical neuropsychiatry · 2022Article
- Neurological Soft Signs Are Associated With Altered White Matter in Patients With Schizophrenia.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2022Article
- Review
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Neurological soft signs (NSS) are minor ('soft') neurological abnormalities in sensory and motor performances, which are frequently reported in patients with schizophrenia at any stage of their illness. It has been demonstrated that NSS vary in the clinical course of the disorder: longitudinally NSS decrease in parallel with remission of psychopathological symptoms, an effect which mainly applies to patients with a remitting course. These findings are primarily based on patients with a first episode of the disorder, while the course of NSS in patients with chronic schizophrenia and persisting symptoms is rather unknown. Therefore, we investigated NSS twice in 21 patients with chronic schizophrenia (initial mean duration of illness: 23 ± 11 years) with a mean follow-up interval of 7 years. NSS were evaluated by the Heidelberg Scale, established instruments were used to rate neuropsychological performance and psychopathological symptoms. NSS showed significant increases on the subscales "motor coordination" and "integrative functions", while positive and negative symptoms, including apathy, showed only minor, non-significant changes. Verbal memory, verbal fluency, and cognitive flexibility along with severity of global cognitive deficits demonstrated a significant deterioration. Regression analyses identified executive dysfunction (cognitive flexibility and verbal fluency) at baseline as significant predictors of NSS increase at follow-up. Our findings indicate that NSS deteriorate in the long-term course of chronic schizophrenia. This effect may be accounted for by a decrease of executive functions and logical memory, which can be attributed to premature brain aging.
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