Stereotypical Catatonia

Abstract

The aim: to study the phenomenon of stereotypical catatonia in the clinical manifestations of schizophrenia throughout the disease process; to determine the relationship between the manifestation of catatonia, negative and cognitive symptoms and to establish the prognostic manifestations characteristics of endogenous process with a predominance of stereotypical catatonia.Patients and methods: 28 patients with a verified diagnosis of schizophrenia, developing with predominance in the clinical picture the phenomena of catatonia among the hypokinesia manifestations, firstly occurring in the form of ideomotor slowness, diminishing of facial expressions with the emergence of motor symptoms and grimacing, evolving on the basis of premorbid motor features.Results and discussion: a psychopathological description of the stereotypical catatonia phenomenon, manifesting itself as a psychomotor disorder, “evolving” on the basis of the motor and pathocharacterological constitution, duplicating and amplifying the manifestations of: a) negative symptoms with the formation of a general “motor-inactive syndrome”; b) cognitive symptoms with the formation of the pseudo-bradyphrenia — is given. The course of schizophrenia (and schizophrenia spectrum disorders) with a predominance of stereotypical catatonia is different. In some cases it’s a “single episode” type of schizophrenia, in other cases the disease develops in the form of the continuous (chronic) catatonic type of schizophrenia.Patients and methods