Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134:966-969
Copyright © 1977 by American Psychiatric Association
Diagnosis: schizophrenia versus posterior aphasia
SN Gerson, F Benson and SH Frazier
Schizophrenia and posterior aphasia are easily cross-diagnosed, primarily
because of similarities in verbal output, i.e., vagueness, looseness of
association, and apparent confusion. Tape-recorded interviews with 8
posterior aphasics and 10 "loose" schizophrenics were transcribed and
analyzed to provide guidelines for the clinician to differentiate the two
conditions by monitoring verbal expression. Six major differentiating
characteristics were identified. The authors present hypotheses that
emphasize differing neuroanatomical loci and neuropsychological mechanisms
to explain the differences in verbal output in schizophrenia and posterior
aphasia.
