주제찾기 수행을 통해 평가한 조현병 환자에서의 추상적 사고 능력의 저하 = Deficits in Abstract Thinking Assessed by Theme Identification in Patients with Schizophrenia

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Objectives : Patients with schizophrenia often have a concrete thinking or an impairment in abstract thinking, but there has been a limitation in quantitatively measuring this cognitive function. The aim of the current study was to investigate a deficit in abstract thinking in patients with schizophrenia using the theme identification task.
Methods : Twenty subjects with schizophrenia and 20 healthy volunteers participated in the behavioral study for theme identification. The visual stimuli were composed of a series of pictures, which contained positive or negative emotional situations. Three words, indicating a main theme of the picture, a theme-related item and a theme-unrelated item, respectively, were presented in the bottom of the pictures, and participants had to select a theme.
Results : The patient group selected theme words at significantly lower rate in both emotional conditions than the control group (positive, p=0.002 ; negative, p=0.001). Especially, in the negative condition, the patient group more selected theme-unrelated items than the control group (p=0.001). The rates of theme identification were inversely correlated with scores of the Social Anhedonia Scale (positive, r=-0.440, p=0.007 ; negative, r=-0.366, p=0.028).
Conclusion : Patients with schizophrenia exhibited an impairment in abstract thinking, and it was remarkable in the negative condition. The ability to think abstractly was associated with the severity of social anhedonia. The impairment of abstract thinking may become one of the reasons for poor social functioning in socially anhedonic patients.

국문 초록 (Abstract)

본 연구는 상기 제시된 제한점에도 불구하고 몇 가지 중요한 사실을 제시하고 있다. 첫째, 조현병 환자들의 추상적 사고 능력은 일상적인 상황을 나타내는 사진에서의 주제찾기 수행을 통해 평가하였을 때에도 정상인에 비해서 저하되어 있다. 둘째, 조현병 환자에서의 추상적 사고 능력의 저하는 다른 인지적 과제 수행 시와 비슷하게 부정적 정서가 동반되었을 때 두드러진다. 셋째, 조현병의 핵심 병리 중 하나인 사회적 무쾌감증이 심할수록 추상적 사고 능력의 저하가 두드러진다. 이러한 연구 결과는 결론적으로, 추상적 사고 능력에 대한 올바른 평가 및 이해를 위해서는 동반된 정서에 대한 고려가 필요하다는 것을 의미하고, 사회적 무쾌감 증상이 있는 환자의 저하된 사회적 기능의 원인 중 하나로 추상적 사고 능력을 고려해 볼 수 있다는 사실을 제시한다. 물론, 본 결과는 앞서 제시된 여러 가지 제한점을 극복하고, 다른 연구들을 통하여 추후 검증되어야 할 것이다.

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