Impairment of semantic categorization processes among thought-disordered schizophrenic patients.

OBJECTIVE

To explore semantic categorization strategies in patients with schizophrenia.

METHOD

A short-term memory-recognition task that reveals the effects associated with categorization was created and applied to 2 groups of patients with schizophrenia and depression.

RESULTS

Only the schizophrenic subgroup with formal thought disorder (measured using Andreasen's Thought, Language, and Communication [TLC] scale) exhibited a deficiency in semantic categorization strategies during the task.

CONCLUSION

These results support the hypothesis of the impairment of the processes involved in the processing of contextual information in patients with schizophrenia who suffer from formal thought disorder.