Psychomotor disturbances in psychiatric patients as a possible basis for new attempts at differential diagnosis and therapy. V. Evaluation of psychomotor training programs in depressed patients

Abstract

Parts I-III of this series used psychometric assessment of motor performance in psychiatric patients and indicated a "psychotic-motor syndrome" (PMS) in schizophrenic and affective psychoses, which was not found in "neurotic"/reactive or healthy persons. Part IV yielded signs of concomitant brain dysfunction in these patients, demonstrated by EEG mapping as well as other (SPECT/PET) neuroimaging methods. Apart from this "basic science" interest into the pathophysiology of endogenous psychoses we engaged in the development of motor training programs using the PMS as "target" syndrome. We hypothesized, that motor training would not only improve disturbed motor behaviour, but ameliorate other symptoms of psychopathology also. These assumptions were supported in the first two independent studies involving n = 45 and n = 31 ICD-9 mono- and/or bipolar endogenous depressed patients, respectively (the studies on schizophrenic patients being reported finally as part VI of this series, along with the final version of our modified motor test battery). Examples of the motor training programs are provided in this paper, although the final version of the complete programs will be published separately for space reasons and for better availability for routine clinical use.