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Psychomotor Slowing in Schizophrenia


Manuel Morrens1,2, Wouter Hulstijn2,3 and Bernard Sabbe2,4

Psychomotor slowing (PS) is a cluster of symptoms that was already
recognized in schizophrenia by its earliest investigators. Nevertheless,
few studies have been dedicated to the clarification of the nature and
the role of the phenomenon in this illness. Moreover, slowed psychomotor
functioning is often not clearly delineated from reduced processing
speed.

The current, first review of all existing literature on the subject
discusses the key findings. Firstly, PS is a clinically observable
feature that is most frequently established by neuropsychological
measures assessing speed of fine movements such as writing or tasks that
require rapid fingertip manipulations or the maintenance of maximal
speed over brief periods of time in manual activities. Moreover, the
slowed performance on the various psychomotor measures has been
demonstrated independent of medication and has also been found to be
associated with negative symptoms and, to a lesser extent, with positive
and depressive symptoms. Importantly, performance on the psychomotor
tasks proved related to the patients' social, clinical, and functional
outcomes. Several imaging studies showed slowed performance to coincide
with dopaminergic striatal activity. Finally, conventional neuroleptics
do not improve the patients' PS symptoms, in contrast to the atypical
agents that do seem to produce modestly improving effects.

Keywords: finger tapping / pegboard tasks / processing speed /
schizophrenia / slowing / writing

Schizophrenia Bulletin 2007 33(4)1038-1053

Oxford University Press

Manuel Morrens, Wouter Hulstijn and Bernard Sabbe









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