A Study on Some Neuropsychological and Cognitive Correlates of Delusional Ideation

A STUDY ON SOME NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL AND COGNITIVE CORRELATES OF DELUSIONAL IDEATION

ABSTRACT

Background: Symptoms of psychosis, such as delusions, can be viewed as points on a continuum of normal functioning. Dysfunction in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been related to the presence of delusions in various psychiatric populations. Probabilistic reasoning such as “jumping to conclusions” (JTC) might be implicated in delusion-prone individuals. Previous studies have reported an association between personality and psychosis.

Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore certain neuropsychological, cognitive and personality correlates of delusional ideation in a non-clinical sample in comparison to a clinical sample.

Settings and Design: It is a cross‑sectional descriptive study conducted at two colleges and two general hospitals at Kolkata.

Method: Two independent samples, namely a non-clinical sample consisting of 40 males and 40 females and a clinical sample consisting of 30 individuals diagnosed with a clinically significant delusion were selected, with age ranging from 18 to 35 years. Delusional ideation of all individuals was assessed using the Peters et al. Delusions Inventory (PDI-21). Functioning of the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) representing the neurobiological correlate was measured through performance on the colour-word Stroop task. Jumping to Conclusions bias (JTC) representing the cognitive correlate was measured through performances on a reasoning task called the Beads Task. The personality dimensions were measured using the Big Five Aspects Scale (BFAS).