Association of Thought Disorder with Cognitive Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia A Cross-Sectional Study in a Tertiary Centre in Kolkata, India

Objective: Thought disorder is a cardinal feature of schizophrenia but its origin is unknown. Few studies have explored the relation between thought and other cognitive functions especially in India. Our objective was to compare the functioning of six cognitive domains of patients of chronic schizophrenia with an age sex and education matched control group and to assess the relation of thought disorder with those cognitive functions. Methodology: Nine different neurocognitive tests were administered to 47 chronic schizophrenic patients and 29 healthy controls. Thought disorder was assessed by thought disturbance score derived from PANSS and total thought disorder score from TLC. The neurocognitive function of patients and controls were compared by using t tests. Pearson’s correlation was carried out between thought disorder and other neurocognitive functions. Results: Patients with schizophrenia performed poorly in the areas of processing speed, verbal learning, verbal working memory and visual working memory. Thought disorder was not significantly correlated with any of the cognitive functions. Regression analysis showed that cognitive measures failed to predict thought disorder. Conclusion: Thought disorder was not associated with any of the above mentioned functions but detailed language assessment is necessary before giving any comment (German J Psychiatry 2013; 16(4): 137-142).