[Assessment of overinclusion in schizophrenia by a computer-assisted version of the Concept Overinclusion test].

OBJECTIVE

A special form of formal thought disorder is the overinclusion in schizophrenia. The Begriffsumfangstest (BUT, Concept Overinclusion test) is a neuropsychological test for the assessment of this phenomenon. The test is available in a paperand- pencil version since the 1990s and now available in a computerized version. The aim of this study was a replication of the paper-and-pencil version with the computerized version of the test and also the detection of putative correlations with ego-psychopathology.

METHODS

40 patients with schizophrenia and 16 healthy controls were assessed with the BUT and with a scale for the assessment of ego-psychopathology (IPP). The tests were performed on five different time points with intervals of approximately two weeks.

RESULTS

The BUT-parameters for the group of patients and the control group differed significantly. Several positive correlations were found between he values of the BUT and the IPP.

CONCLUSION

The computerized Version of the BUT is also applicable for the detection of overinclusion. The relation between overinclusion as a semantic dysfunction and ego-psychopathology may lead to further psychopathological investigations concerning schizophrenic thought disorders.