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On the Psychiatric Importance of Neurological Soft Signs

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Advances in Clinical Child Psychology

Part of the book series: Advances in Clinical Child Psychology ((ACCP,volume 10))

Abstract

The term soft sign as it relates to neurological dysfunction is usually applied to reflect atypical performance on various psychomotor or somatosensory tasks often employed in the standard neurological examination. In order for this non-normative performance to continue to be further described as a soft sign, criteria of at least near normal intelligence and absence of focal neurological disorder are additionally applied. In other words, the atypical motor and sensory performance is not considered soft if mental retardation or focal brain damage can be implicated in its etiology. Dysdiadochokinesis, astereognosis, synkinesia, tactile localization deficits, and minor reflex asymmetries are among the many examples of behaviors considered to be soft signs of neurological dysfunction. Table 1 contains a brief list of diagnostic terms that one would frequently encounter in the soft sign literature. We will assume familiarity with these terms for this review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mayo Medical School, Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, 55901, USA

    Ronald Neeper

  2. Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA

    Robert S. Greenwood

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  1. Ronald Neeper
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  2. Robert S. Greenwood
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA

    Benjamin B. Lahey

  2. Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Alan E. Kazdin

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© 1987 Plenum Press, New York

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Neeper, R., Greenwood, R.S. (1987). On the Psychiatric Importance of Neurological Soft Signs. In: Lahey, B.B., Kazdin, A.E. (eds) Advances in Clinical Child Psychology. Advances in Clinical Child Psychology, vol 10. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9826-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-9826-4_6

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