FRONTAL-LOBE DYSFUNCTION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA AND OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVE DISORDER - A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY

Converging evidence suggests there is a specific role of dorso-lateral-prefrontal cortex (DLPC) in schizophrenic disorders and of orbite-frontal cortex (OFC) in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Here, 25 schizophrenic and 25 OCD patients were evaluated with Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Object Alternation Test; neuropsychological tools sensitive to DLPC and OFC damage, respectively; and compared with 25 subjects of a control group. Moreover, they all underwent Weigl's Sorting Test and the Word Fluency Test to assess global frontal functioning. The results indicated a DLPC deficit in schizophrenia and an OFC involvement in OCD. These data suggest that functional disorders of the central nervous system can be explored with neuropsychological instruments. (C) 1995 Academic Press. Inc. OI scarone, silvio/0000-0001-7187-3747 ZR 0