Alfonso Martínez-Cano

Nuestro estudio busca evaluar la singularidad léxica en personas españolas con esquizofrenia, así como analizar la peculiaridad en el uso de palabras en relación con el predominio de síntomas. Además, buscamos investigar si las asociaciones de palabras podrían dilucidar el uso de términos poco comunes en esta población. La muestra está compuesta por 50 personas con diagnóstico de esquizofrenia (56% con predominio de síntomas positivos y 44% con síntomas negativos). Se administró la prueba de fluidez verbal semántica y fonológica. A través de la base de datos ESPAL, se analizaron las frecuencias de las palabras generadas. Asimismo, se estudiaron las asociaciones de las palabras mediante un análisis interjueces. Las personas con esquizofrenia utilizan un mayor número de palabras de baja frecuencia, especialmente en los síntomas positivos, tanto en la fluidez verbal fonológica como en la fluidez verbal semántica, siendo las diferencias estadísticamente significativas. Se observó una mayor asociación de palabras en función del sonido en las pruebas de fluidez fonológica, mientras que en la fluidez verbal semántica se observó una mayor asociación semántica, ambas con significación estadística. Nuestros resultados respaldan la validez del método para evaluar la distinción de palabras en personas con esquizofrenia, especialmente cuando presentan síntomas positivos. El uso de palabras poco frecuentes podría utilizarse como una medida objetiva para la distinción de la sintomatología en la esquizofrenia.

Schizophrenia is a severe mental disorder that primarily affects the semantic and pragmatic aspects of language. The aim of this study was to analyze pragmatics at macrotextual, microtextual and writing levels in persons with schizophrenia in order to ascertain the narrative characteristics and determine the nature of such pragmatics according to positive and negative symptomatology. Cross-sectional and quasi-experimental study was conducted on a sample of 41 individuals with schizophrenia. An analysis of textual pragmatics was performed using the participants’ summary of "The Tale of Landolfo Rufolo". Macrotextual coherence was functional in that it presented key plot information and respected the timeline of the story. Microtextual cohesion was characterized by repetitions, low lexical variation, low syntactic complexity and maintained morphology. The participants' writing was consistent with a generalized dysorthographic profile. In addition, the present work revealed significant differences according to symptomatology. Individuals with positive symptomatology showed lower macrotextual coherence, while microtextual cohesion entailed a greater number of words and therefore greater lexical variation. In contrast, those with negative symptomatology presented a greater dysorthographic profile. This study provides a functional overview of written language in persons with schizophrenia, highlighting the need for a multidisciplinary speech and language therapy intervention to enhance such individuals’ quality of life by favoring their social integration.

Background: Schizophrenia is a serious mental health condition that usually begins in adolescence and often progresses to become a chronic and disabling illness. Difficulties in communication and anomalous language are considered core elements of the disorder. Several studies have demonstrated the presence of semantic deficits in individuals with schizophrenia, suggesting that these deficits may constitute a core feature of the disorder. However, research in this area remains limited, particularly among individuals at high risk of developing the disorder. The central hypothesis of this study is that individuals with schizophrenia exhibit semantic processing deficits, even when cognitive function, psychopathology, and medication are controlled for. We also hypothesize that similar, albeit milder, deficits can be observed in individuals at high risk of developing the condition. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 155 participants divided into three groups: 46 with schizophrenia, 42 at high risk due to factors like substance use and high psychopathology, and 67 controls matched by sex, age, and education. Semantic processing was assessed using the semantic relations subtest from the BETA, controlling for medication and cognitive performance as possible confounding factors. Results: the results revealed significant differences among the three groups (F = 28.543; p < 0.001); the schizophrenia group performed poorly, followed by the high-risk group, and then the control group, which showed no deficits. Error patterns were also analyzed to assess group differences, revealing that the schizophrenia group had the lowest scores and the most specific deficits. These findings highlight the relevance of semantic evaluation in schizophrenia and, more importantly, in individuals at high risk of developing the disorder, as such deficits may serve as early biomarkers. Additionally, significant correlations were found between semantic performance and variables such as medication (r = −0.342; p = 0.020), cognition (r = −0.259; p = 0.001), and psychopathology (r = −0.566; p < 0.001). Conclusions: This emphasizes the need to control these factors to avoid misinterpreting semantic deficits in both schizophrenia and high-risk groups. The present research is not without limitations; for example, the study design does not allow for conclusions of causality but rather of correlation.

(1) Background: The increasing life expectancy brings an increase in geriatric syndromes, specifically frailty. The literature shows that exercise is a key to preventing, or even reversing, frailty in community-dwelling populations. The main objective is to demonstrate how an intervention based on multicomponent exercise produces an improvement in frailty and pre-frailty in a community-dwelling population. (2) Methods: a prospective observational study of a multicomponent exercise program for geriatric revitalization with people aged over 65 holding Barthel Index scores equal to, or beyond, 90. The program was developed over 30 weeks, three times a week, in sessions lasting 45–50 min each. Frailty levels were registered by the Short Physical Performance Battery, FRAIL Questionnaire Screening Tool, and Timed “Up & Go” at the beginning of the program, 30 weeks later (at the end of the program), and following 13 weeks without training; (3) Results: 360 participants completed the program; a greater risk of frailty was found before the program started among older women living in urban areas, with a more elevated fat percentage, more baseline pathologies, and wider baseline medication use. Furthermore, heterogeneous results were observed both in training periods and in periods without physical activity. However, they are consistent over time and show improvement after training. They show a good correlation between TUG and SPPB; (4) Conclusions: A thirty-week multicomponent exercise program improves frailty and pre-frailty status in a community-dwelling population with no functional decline. Nevertheless, a lack of homogeneity is evident among the various tools used for measuring frailty over training periods and inactivity periods.