Visual motor gestalt task indicates that ‘deficit schizophrenics’ become severely disturbed with age

Background:  ‘Deficit syndrome’ in people with schizophrenia is one of the primary negative symptoms that might be linked to organic brain changes. In the present study the visual motor gestalt functions of schizophrenics using the Bender–Gestalt test (BGT) were assessed. Methods:  Fifty-eight chronic schizophrenics (DSM-IV) were the subjects who took part in this study (26 men and 32 women with an average age of 53.5 years and a mean duration of illness of 31.4 years). We performed BGT and used the scoring system of Pascal–Suttell. At the same time patients’ symptoms were also rated using the brief psychiatric rating scale and the Simpson and Angus extrapyramidal symptom scale from Keio University. The subjects were also divided into ‘deficit’ and ‘non-deficit’ groups according to the criteria of Carpenters et al. 1988. Results:  The mean total BGT score for all subjects was 48.2, which was midway between the scores for normal subjects and patients with organic brain diseases. The BGT score for subjects correlated significantly with age (rs = 0.44, P < 0.01). Although no significant difference in the total BGT scores existed between the ‘deficit’ and ‘non-deficit’ groups, the correlation with age was more marked in the deficit subjects than in the non-deficit subjects (rs = 0.725, P < 0.01 vs rs = 0.2705, P < 0.1). There also existed significant correlations between the BGT scores and the total scores of parkinsonism (rs = 0.265, P < 0.05). The multiple regression analysis of the BGT scores, nevertheless, revealed a higher correlation with age rather than parkinsonism scores of patients with schizophrenia, especially in the deficit group (β = 0.559, contribution = 31.8% vs β = 0.295, contribution = 9.1%). Conclusion:  Performance of the visual motor gestalt task revealed that deficit subjects become severely disturbed with age, suggesting that these individuals are more vulnerable to the brain aging process.