Validation and factorial structure of a standardized neurological examination assessing neurological soft signs in schizophrenia

Cognitive control deficit in patients with first-episode schizophrenia is associated with complex deviations of early brain development

“…We administered comprehensive standardized neurological examinations, 21 including the evaluation of 23 NSS (4-level rating), to each patient. This scale encompasses 3 main factors: 21 sensory integration (face-hand test, graphesthesia, constructive apraxia, stereognosia, right/left recognition), motor integration (balance, romberg, finger to nose, gait) and motor coordination (rapid alternative movements of foot, hand, finger opposition, foot and hand dysrythmia, fist edge palm).…”

“…This scale encompasses 3 main factors: 21 sensory integration (face-hand test, graphesthesia, constructive apraxia, stereognosia, right/left recognition), motor integration (balance, romberg, finger to nose, gait) and motor coordination (rapid alternative movements of foot, hand, finger opposition, foot and hand dysrythmia, fist edge palm). Inter-rater reliability was 0.82 for the whole neurologic evaluation, and had a Chronbach α of 0.85 for internal consistency.…”

“…Inter-rater reliability was 0.82 for the whole neurologic evaluation, and had a Chronbach α of 0.85 for internal consistency. 21 The presence of NSS was defined from the normal distribution of total NSS among healthy individuals: patients were considered to have significant NSS (NSS participant) if their total NSS score was greater than 10, as 95% of healthy individuals have a total NSS score between 0 and 10. Patients with a total NSS score between 0 and 10 were therefore considered to have nonsignificant NSS (no NSS participant).…”

L’enfance des schizophrènes : revue de la littérature

“…D'après une étude de Done et al [18] des différences peuvent être discriminées en fonction du sexe : à l'âge de 7 ans les garçons ont tendance à être hostiles Les soft signs sont particulièrement étudiés depuis quelques années car plusieurs arguments les érigent en marqueurs potentiels de vulnérabilité. Ils sont en effet retrouvés avec une fréquence élevée chez les patients schizophrènes [35], chez les enfants futurs schizophrènes [36], dans les pathologies du spectre schizophrénique [4] [23].) Pour certains la « quantité » et l'importance des soft signs sont corrélées à la sévérité de la schizophrénie [38], plus précisément au score de « désorganisation » de la PANSS (Positive and Negative Symptoms Scale for Schizophrenia) [22].…”

The Use of Bayesian Networks for Subgrouping Heterogeneous Diseases

“…Using a standardized scale defined in the labora-tory [7], we have previously shown that NSS scores are related to other variables linked to abnormal development (i.e.minor physical abnormalities [8]) and to genetic risk [9].…”