Psychopathology of negative symptoms of schizophrenia

• Grant number: 08/09488-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2009
• End date: January 31, 2011
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Psychiatry
• Principal Investigator: Cláudio Eduardo Muller Banzato
• Grantee: Cláudio Eduardo Muller Banzato
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Médicas (FCM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: Campinas

Abstract

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are a frequent, enduring and debilitating dimension of schizophrenic psychopathology. It is a dimension clearly separated from positive symptoms and disorganization symptoms. Nevertheless, the separation between cognitive and negative symptoms and between affective and negative symptoms is less clear. Deficit Syndrome is a subtype of schizophrenia defined by the presence of primary and persistent negative symptoms (deficit symptoms) which has been associated with worse outcome, more neurocognitive impairment and a specific pattern of structural MRI abnormalities. We propose a comprehensive investigation about negative symptoms of schizophrenia, exploring from the association between negative symptoms and demographic and clinical variables to the relation between deficit symptoms and brain structural abnormalities. We will translate and adapt for use in Brazil the scales: Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) e Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome (SDS). Those instruments will be used with other standardized instruments in the assessment of 120 schizophrenic patients, among which we will select 30 patients diagnosed as presenting Deficit Syndrome. Deficit schizophrenic patients will be compared to nondeficit patients and normal controls in a structural MRI brain imaging study. We expect to contribute to the refinement of the psychopathological assessment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DANTAS, CLARISSA R.; BARROS, BRUNO R.; FERNANDES, PAULA T.; LI, LI M.; BANZATO, CLAUDIO E. M.. Insight controlled for cognition in deficit and nondeficit schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH, v. 128, n. 1-3, p. 124-126, MAY 2011. (08/09488-8)

DANTAS, CLARISSA DE ROSALMEIDA; BANZATO, CLAUDIO E. M.. Raising awareness of values in the recognition of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. DIALOGUES IN PHILOSOPHY MENTAL AND NEURO SCIENCES, v. 3, n. 2, p. 7-pg., 2010-12-01. (08/09488-8)

PEGORARO, LUIZ F. L.; DANTAS, CLARISSA R.; BANZATO, CLAUDIO E. M.; FUENTES, DANIEL. Correlation between insight dimensions and cognitive functions in patients with deficit and nondeficit schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH, v. 147, n. 1, p. 91-94, JUN 2013. (08/09488-8)