Background and Objectives: Even if verbal fluency deficits have been described in Schizophrenia, error pattern in this test has not been analyzed in detail in the literature. The pattern analysis of such errors could contribute to the understanding of the factors that influence poor task performance in schizophrenia. In this study we analyzed the intrusion and perseveration errors in verbal fluency tasks in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Methods: 87 patients diagnosed with Chronic Schizophrenia and 87 healthy controls were included in this investigation and were assessed with four Phonological and Semantic Verbal Fluency tasks. Results The results of this study showed that at least half of schizophrenic patients produced perseverative errors on verbal fluency and about made intrusion errors. The severity of negative symptoms, the severity of Formal Thought Disorder and pharmacological variables were significant moderators to errors in Verbal Fluency performance. Conclusions Errors in Verbal Fluency can be explained by the interaction of different variables in patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a psychological pathology with great phenomenological complexity and its particularities can only be explained by the consideration of the multiple factors involved in its manifestation.

RESUMO A disfunção executiva pode resultar de envolvimento do circuito pré-frontal que ocorre em doenças neurodegenerativas e distúrbios psiquiátricos. Além disso, várias condições neuropsiquiátricas, podem apresentar sobreposição de sintomas comportamentais e cognitivos, tornando o diagnóstico diferencial um desafio, especialmente durante as fases iniciais. Neste sentido, a avaliação cognitiva pode contribuir para o diagnóstico diferencial, fornecendo um conjunto de medidas objetivas e quantificáveis com potencial para distinguir as condições clínicas percebidas em ambientes clínicos comuns como bastante similar. Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo foi o de investigar a utilidade do Rastreio Frontal INECO (IFS) em diferenciar pacientes bv-FTD de pacientes com depressão maior. Métodos: Foram estudados 49 pacientes com diagnóstico de bv-FTD e 30 pacientes com diagnóstico de depressão unipolar, que foram comparados com um grupo controle de 26 controles saudáveis usando o IFS, o Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MMSE) e Exame Cognitivo de Addenbrooke-revisado (ACE-I). Resultados: Os grupos de pacientes diferiram significativamente no controle inibitório motor (U=437,0, p<0,01), memória de trabalho verbal (U=298,0, p<0,001), a memória de trabalho espacial (U=300,5, p<0,001), provérbios (U=341,5, p<0,001) e no controle inibitório verbal (U=316,0, p<0,001), com pacientes com bv-FTD tendo pontuação significativamente menor do que os pacientes com depressão. Conclusão: Nossos resultados sugerem que o IFS pode ser considerado uma ferramenta útil para detectar a disfunção executiva em depressão e pacientes bv-FTD e, talvez mais importante, que tem o potencial de ajudar na diferenciação dessas duas condições.

ABSTRACT Executive dysfunction may result from prefrontal circuitry involvement occurring in both neurodegenerative diseases and psychiatric disorders. Moreover, multiple neuropsychiatric conditions, may present with overlapping behavioral and cognitive symptoms, making differential diagnosis challenging, especially during earlier stages. In this sense, cognitive assessment may contribute to the differential diagnosis by providing an objective and quantifiable set of measures that has the potential to distinguish clinical conditions otherwise perceived in everyday clinical settings as quite similar. Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate the utility of the INECO Frontal Screening (IFS) for differentiating bv-FTD patients from patients with Major Depression. Methods: We studied 49 patients with bv-FTD diagnosis and 30 patients diagnosed with unipolar depression compared to a control group of 26 healthy controls using the INECO Frontal Screening (IFS), the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R). Results: Patient groups differed significantly on the motor inhibitory control (U=437.0, p<0.01), verbal working memory (U=298.0, p<0.001), spatial working memory (U=300.5, p<0.001), proverbs (U=341.5, p<0.001) and verbal inhibitory control (U=316.0, p<0.001) subtests, with bv-FTD patients scoring significantly lower than patients with depression. Conclusion: Our results suggest the IFS can be considered a useful tool for detecting executive dysfunction in both depression and bv-FTD patients and, perhaps more importantly, that it has the potential to help differentiate these two conditions.

Resumo A detecção de comprometimento cognitivo em pacientes com doença de Parkinson é crucial para uma boa prática clínica devido às novas possibilidades terapêuticas disponíveis. Quando uma avaliação neuropsicológica completa não está disponível, instrumentos de rastreio capazes de detectar dificuldades cognitivas tornam-se cruciais. Objetivo: Investigar se a versão espanhola do Addenbrooke´s Cognitive Examination (ACE) é capaz de detectar dificuldades cognitivas em pacientes com doença de Parkinson e discriminar seu perfil cognitivo de pacientes com demência. Métodos: 77 pacientes com demência leve (53 com doença de Alzheimer e 24 com demência frontotemporal), 22 pacientes com doença de Parkinson e 53 controles saudáveis foram avaliados com a ACE. Resultados: Os pacientes com doença de Parkinson significativamente diferiram de controles saudáveis e pacientes com demência no escore total do ACE. Conclusões: Este estudo mostra que a versão espanhola do ACE é capaz de detectar pacientes com comprometimento cognitivo na doença de Parkinson e de diferenciá-los de pacientes com demência baseados no seu estado cognitivo geral.

Abstract Detecting cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson's disease is crucial for good clinical practice given the new therapeutic possibilities available. When full neuropsychological evaluations are not available, screening tools capable of detecting cognitive difficulties become crucial. Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate whether the Spanish version of the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (ACE) is capable of detecting cognitive difficulties in patients with Parkinson's disease and discriminating their cognitive profile from patients with dementia. Methods: 77 early dementia patients (53 with Alzheimer's Disease and 24 with Frontotemporal Dementia), 22 patients with Parkinson's disease, and 53 healthy controls were evaluated with the ACE. Results: Parkinson's disease patients significantly differed from both healthy controls and dementia patients on ACE total score. Conclusions: This study shows that the Spanish version of the ACE is capable of detecting patients with cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease and is able to differentiate them from patients with dementia based on their general cognitive status.