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Open Access Publications from the University of California

Scholarly Works (2 results)

  • Thesis
  • Peer Reviewed
UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations (2013)

This study investigates five types of disorganized speech as defined in the psychiatric literature in individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia through ethnographic and conversation-analytic methods. Data analyzed for this research have been taken from a video ethnography study investigating the ecological validity of participants' functioning and neurocognitive assessments (Bromley et al., 2012a; Bromley et al., 2012b). Results of this research highlight (a) the difference in analytical privilege between analysts and interlocutors; (b) the distributed, rather than individual, responsibility of managing the consequences of disorganized speech; (c) the way in which face-management takes precedence over mutual understanding of talk and d) the way in which communicative breakdowns are not conversational endpoints. Social skill interventions geared towards behavioral transfer to real-world settings can benefit from an understanding of the interactional resources underlying face-to-face interaction.

    Cover page: A Conversation-Analytic Investigation of Disorganized Speech in Face-to-Face Interactions with Individuals Diagnosed with Schizophrenia: Why Methodology Matters
    • Article
    • Peer Reviewed
    UCLA Previously Published Works (2021)

    Background

    D. Frank Benson and colleagues first described the clinical and neuropathological features of posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) from patients in the UCLA Neurobehavior Program.

    Objective

    We reviewed the Program's subsequent clinical experience with PCA, and its potential for clarifying this relatively rare syndrome in comparison to the accumulated literature on PCA.

    Methods

    Using the original criteria derived from this clinic, 65 patients with neuroimaging-supported PCA were diagnosed between 1995 and 2020.

    Results

    On presentation, most had visual localization complaints and related visuospatial symptoms, but nearly half had memory complaints followed by symptoms of depression. Neurobehavioral testing showed predominant difficulty with visuospatial constructions, Gerstmann's syndrome, and Balint's syndrome, but also impaired memory and naming. On retrospective application of the current Consensus Criteria for PCA, 59 (91%) met PCA criteria with a modification allowing for "significantly greater visuospatial over memory and naming deficits." There were 37 deaths (56.9%) with the median overall survival of 10.3 years (95% CI: 9.6-13.6 years), consistent with a slow neurodegenerative disorder in most patients.

    Conclusion

    Together, these findings recommend modifying the PCA criteria for "relatively spared" memory, language, and behavior to include secondary memory and naming difficulty and depression, with increased emphasis on the presence of Gerstmann's and Balint's syndromes.
      Cover page: Benson's Disease or Posterior Cortical Atrophy, Revisited.
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