Sustained and selective attention deficits as vulnerability markers to psychosis

The first descriptions of schizophrenia emphasized attention problems patients with schizophrenia have but recent results evidence that other psychotic disorders share them.

We compared the performance in sustained and selective attention between psychotic patients (P), their healthy first degree relatives (R) and healthy volunteers (C) to prove whether these alterations could be an endophenotype of vulnerability to psychosis. We also compared the performance of schizophrenic patients (SZP) and that of patients with other functional psychoses (OP) in order to prove whether these alterations are specific of any psychotic disorder.

Seventy-six P, 70 R and 39 C were included in the study. A selective attention index, comprising TMT A and B and Stroop Test, and a sustained attention index comprising the Continuous Performance Test were calculated. We conducted an univariant general linear model to compare three group performances in these indexes, with age, sex and years of education as a covariables.

We found significant differences between the indexes when we compared P, R and C. No differences in performance were found between SZP and OP. Our data showed that sustained and selective attention alterations could be a vulnerability factor to psychotic disorders in general, but they were not specific of schizophrenia.

Asperger's disorder in adulthood: a case report

Asperger's disorder is a pervasive development disorder. It involves qualitative disorders in social relationship and communication as well as restricted and repetitive interests and activities, with no delay in language acquisition. Although Asperger's disorder is an illness that begins in childhood, its diagnosis may frequently not be done until later stages. The case presented is about a 21 year old man with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder who, after several admissions, was sent to the Rehabilitation Hospital Unit for stabilization and diagnostic study given the atypical features of his case. The psychopathological examination showed disorders in social relationships, psychomotricity and communications that had begun in his childhood. All these data, and the results of the biomedical and psychological diagnostic tests oriented us towards the presence of a dual diagnosis of Asperger's disorder and schizoaffective disorder. The presence of common symptoms between the AD and other psychiatric diseases as well as the possible existence of comorbidity may lead to an incorrect or late diagnosis.