September 12, 2023 — Since the 1980s, we have known that neurological soft signs (NSS) can distinguish people with schizophrenia from psychiatrically healthy individuals. NSS are subtle neurological impairments that principally manifest as decreased sensory integration (trouble receiving and responding to information transmitted to the brain through the senses) and difficulties with balance, rapid successive movements, and right–left orientation.
NSS doesn’t always cause impairment of daily living, but identifying them could improve the diagnosis and treatment of schizophrenia and enhance understanding of the disease itself. Unfortunately, barriers to assessment have persisted for more than 40 years—rating systems for NSS are subjective, so it’s difficult to reliably measure and compare deficits.
In a perspectives article…
