Broken record: what is obsessive-compulsive disorder. Systemic perseverations What is letter perseveration


A peculiar distortion of the phonetic content of words occurs in oral and written speech according to the type of phenomena of progressive and regressive assimilation and is called, respectively: perseveration (stuckness) and anticipation (anticipation, anticipation): a consonant, and less often a vowel, replaces the repressed letter in a word.

Examples of perseverations in writing:

a) within the word: “shop”, “collective farm worker”, “behind the tire” (collective farmer, car);

b) within the phrase: “at Grandfather Modoz’s”;

c) within a sentence: “The girl fed the rooster and the chickens”: Examples of anticipation in a letter:

a) within the word: “on the maidens”, “on top of the roof”, “with birthplaces”.

b) within a phrase or sentence: “Streams are buzzing.” “We have it at home” - “We have it.” " “The kitten meowed pitifully” - pitifully. "

Perseveration and anticipation of a syllable (and even a word) is possible: “stepped” - stepped, “descended” - descended; "melgo small fish" - a lot of small fish. The basis of the errors of these two types is the weakness of differential inhibition.

Dictionary of speech therapy terms

Automation (of sound) is the stage of correcting incorrect sound pronunciation, which follows after setting a new sound; aimed at developing the correct pronunciation of sounds in coherent speech; consists in the gradual, consistent introduction of a given sound into syllables, words, sentences and into independent speech.

Automated speech sequences are speech actions implemented without the direct participation of consciousness.

Agnosia is a violation of various types of perception that occurs with certain brain lesions. There are visual, tactile, and auditory agnosias.

Agrammatism is a violation of the understanding and use of grammatical means of a language.

Adaptation is the adaptation of an organism to living conditions.

Acalculia is a violation of counting and counting operations as a consequence of a lesion various areas cerebral cortex.

Alalia is the absence or underdevelopment of speech in children with normal hearing and primary intact intelligence due to organic damage speech zones of the cerebral cortex in fetal or early period child development.

Alexia is the impossibility of the reading process.

Amorphous words are grammatically unchangeable root words, “abnormal words” of children's speech - words-fragments (in which only parts of the word are preserved), words-onomatopoeia (words-syllables that the child uses to designate objects, actions, situations), contour words ( in which stress and number of syllables are correctly reproduced).

Amnesia is a memory disorder in which it is impossible to reproduce ideas and concepts formed in the past.

Anamnesis is a set of information (about a person’s living conditions, events preceding the disease, etc.) obtained during the examination from the person being examined and (or) persons who know him; used to establish a diagnosis, prognosis of the disease and select corrective measures.

Ankyloglossia is a shortened hypoglossal ligament.

Anticipation – the ability to foresee the manifestation of the results of an action, “anticipatory reflection”, for example, premature recording of sounds included in the final motor acts.

Apraxia is a violation of voluntary purposeful movements and actions that are not a consequence of paralysis and cuts, but related to disorders top level organization of motor acts.

Articulation is the activity of the speech organs associated with the pronunciation of speech sounds and their various components that make up syllables and words.

The articulatory apparatus is a set of organs that ensure the formation of speech sounds (articulation), including the vocal apparatus, muscles of the pharynx, larynx, tongue, soft palate, lips, cheeks and lower jaw, teeth, etc.

Ataxia is a disorder/lack of coordination of movements.

Atrophy is pathological structural changes in tissues associated with inhibition of metabolism (due to a disorder in their nutrition).

Asphyxia - suffocation of the fetus and newborn - cessation of breathing with continued cardiac activity due to a decrease or loss of excitability of the respiratory center.

An audiogram is a graphical representation of hearing test data using a device (audiometer).

Aphasia is a complete or partial loss of speech caused by local lesions of the brain. See also video lessons “Forms of aphasia and methods of speech restoration.”

Main forms of aphasia:

  • acoustic-gnostic (sensory) – violation of phonemic perception;
  • acoustic-mnestic – impairment of auditory-verbal memory;
  • semantic – impaired understanding of logical and grammatical structures;
  • afferent motor – kinesthetic and articulatory apraxia;
  • efferent motor – violation of the kinetic basis of series of speech movements;
  • dynamic – violation of the sequential organization of utterances, planning of utterances.

Afferent kinesthetic praxis is the ability to reproduce isolated speech sounds, their articulatory patterns (postures), which are often also called speech kinesthesia or articulomes.

Aphonia – lack of sonority of the voice while maintaining whispered speech; the immediate cause of aphonia is non-closure vocal folds, resulting in air leakage during phonation. Aphonia occurs as a result of organic or functional disorders in the larynx, with a disorder of the nervous regulation of speech activity.

Bradylalia is a pathologically slow rate of speech.

Broca's Center is a section of the cerebral cortex located in the posterior third of the inferior frontal gyrus of the left hemisphere (in right-handed people), providing motor organization of speech (responsible for expressive speech).

Wernicke Center is an area of ​​the cerebral cortex in the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus of the dominant hemisphere, providing speech understanding (responsible for impressive speech).

Gammacism is a lack of pronunciation of the sounds [Г], [Гь].

Hemiplegia is paralysis of the muscles of one half of the body.

Hyperkinesis - automatic violent movements due to involuntary muscle contractions.

Hypoxia is oxygen starvation of the body. Hypoxia in newborns is a fetal pathology that develops during pregnancy (chronic) or childbirth (acute) due to oxygen deficiency. Lack of oxygen supply to the fetus at the beginning of pregnancy can cause delays or disturbances in fetal development, and in later stages it affects the baby’s nervous system, which can significantly affect speech development.

The following factors may put you at risk for developing hypoxia:

  • the presence of anemia, STDs, as well as serious diseases of the respiratory or cardiovascular system in the expectant mother;
  • disturbances in the blood supply to the fetus and in labor, gestosis, post-term pregnancy;
  • pathologies of the fetus and Rh conflict between mother and baby;
  • smoking and drinking alcohol by a pregnant woman.

Also indicates oxygen deficiency green color amniotic fluid.

If the doctor suspects hypoxia, he may decide whether a cesarean section is necessary. A newborn with severe oxygen deprivation is resuscitated, and with mild degree receives oxygen and medications.

Dysarthria is a violation of the pronunciation side of speech, caused by insufficient innervation of the speech apparatus.

Dyslalia is a violation of sound pronunciation with normal hearing and intact innervation of the speech apparatus.

Dyslexia is a partial specific disorder of the reading process, caused by the immaturity (impairment) of higher mental functions and manifested in repeated errors of a persistent nature.

Dysgraphia is a partial specific disorder of the writing process, caused by the immaturity (impairment) of higher mental functions and manifested in repeated errors of a persistent nature.

Speech development delay (SSD) is a lag in speech development from the age norm of speech development at the age of up to 3 years. From 3 years of age and older, the immaturity of all components of speech is classified as GSD (general speech underdevelopment).

Stuttering is a violation of the tempo-rhythmic organization of speech, caused by the convulsive state of the muscles of the speech apparatus.

Onomatopoeia is a conditional reproduction of natural sounds and sounds that accompany certain processes (laughter, whistling, noise, etc.), as well as animal cries.

Impressive speech – perception, understanding of speech.

Innervation is the provision of organs and tissues with nerves and, therefore, communication with the central nervous system.

Stroke is an acute cerebrovascular accident (ACVA) caused by a pathological process with the development of persistent symptoms of damage to the central nervous system. Hemorrhagic stroke is caused by hemorrhage in the brain or its membranes, ischemic stroke is caused by the cessation or significant decrease in blood supply to a part of the brain, thrombotic stroke is caused by blockage of a cerebral vessel with a thrombus, embolic stroke is caused by blockage of a cerebral vessel by an embolus.

Kappacism is a lack of pronunciation of the sounds [К], [Кь].

Kinesthetic sensations are sensations of the position and movement of organs.

Compensation is a complex, multidimensional process of restructuring mental functions in the event of disruption or loss of any body functions.

Contamination is the erroneous reproduction of words, which consists of combining syllables belonging to different words into one word.

Lambdacism is the incorrect pronunciation of the sounds [L], [L].

Speech therapy is the science of speech disorders, methods of their prevention, identification and elimination by means of special training and education.

Speech therapy massage is one of the speech therapy techniques that helps normalize the pronunciation aspect of speech and the emotional state of people suffering from speech disorders. Speech therapy massage is part of a comprehensive medical and pedagogical system of rehabilitation for children, adolescents and adults suffering from speech disorders.

Logorrhea is an uncontrolled, incoherent flow of speech, often representing an empty collection of individual words, devoid of logical connection. Observed in sensory aphasia.

Logorhythmics is a system of motor exercises in which various movements are combined with the pronunciation of special speech material. Logorhythmics is a form of active therapy, overcoming speech and related disorders through the development and correction of non-speech and speech mental functions.

Localization of functions - according to the theory of systemic dynamic localization of higher mental functions, the brain is considered as a substrate consisting of departments differentiated by their functions, working as a single whole. Local – local, limited to a certain area, area.

Macroglossia – pathological enlargement of the tongue; observed with abnormal development and in the presence of a chronic pathological process in the language. With M., significant pronunciation disturbances are observed.

Microglossia is a developmental anomaly, small size of the tongue.

Mutism is the cessation of verbal communication with others due to mental trauma.

Speech disorders are deviations in the speaker’s speech from the language norm accepted in a given language environment, manifested in partial (partial) disorders (sound pronunciation, voice, tempo and rhythm, etc.) and caused by disorders of the normal functioning of the psychophysiological mechanisms of speech activity.

Neuropsychology is the science of the brain organization of higher mental functions of a person. N. studies the psychological structure, brain organization of non-speech HMF and speech function. N. studies disorders of speech and other HMF depending on the nature of brain damage (local, diffuse, interzonal connections), as well as the diagnosis of these disorders and methods of correctional and rehabilitation work.

General speech underdevelopment (GSD) is a variety of complex speech disorders in which children have impaired formation of all components of the speech system related to its sound and semantic side, with normal hearing and intelligence.

Reflected speech is speech repeated after someone.

Finger games are a generally accepted name for activities to develop fine motor skills in children. Finger games develop fine motor skills, and its development stimulates the development of certain areas of the brain, in particular speech centers.

Paraphasia is a violation of speech utterances, manifested in omissions, erroneous replacement or rearrangement of sounds and syllables in words (literal paraphasia, for example, mokolo instead of milk, cheekbones instead of chair) or in the replacement of necessary words with others that are not related to the meaning of the utterance (verbal paraphasia) in oral and written speech.

Pathogenesis is the mechanism of development of a specific disease, pathological process or condition.

Perseverations are cyclical repetition or persistent reproduction, often contrary to the conscious intention of any actions, thoughts or experiences.

Prenatal period – pertaining to the period before birth.

Speech decay is the loss of existing speech and communication skills due to local brain damage.

Reflex - in physiology - a natural response of the body to a stimulus mediated by the nervous system.

Disinhibition is the cessation of the state of internal inhibition in the cerebral cortex under the influence of extraneous stimuli.

Disinhibition of speech in children - activation of speech development in children with delayed speech development.

Disinhibition of speech in adults – restoration of speech function in speechless patients.

Rhinolalia is a violation of voice timbre and sound pronunciation, resulting from excessive or insufficient resonance in the nasal cavity during speech. Such a violation of resonance occurs from the incorrect direction of the voice-exhalatory stream due to either organic defects of the nasopharynx, nasal cavity, soft and hard palate, or disorders of the function of the soft palate. There are open, closed and mixed rhinolalia.

Rotacism is a disorder in the pronunciation of the sounds [P], [Rb].

Sensory – sensitive, feeling, relating to sensations.

Sigmatism is a disorder in the pronunciation of whistling ([С], [Сь], [З], [Зь], [Ц]) and hissing ([Ш], [Х], [Ч], [Ш]) sounds.

A syndrome is a natural combination of signs (symptoms) that have a common pathogenesis and characterize a specific disease state.

Somatic is a term used to designate various kinds of phenomena in the body associated with the body, as opposed to the psyche.

Conjugate speech is the joint simultaneous repetition by two or more persons of words or phrases spoken by someone.

Cramps are involuntary muscle contractions that occur during epilepsy, brain injuries, spasmophilia and other diseases. Convulsions are characteristic of a state of excitation of subcortical formations and can be caused reflexively.

Clonic seizures are characterized by rapid alternations between muscle contraction and relaxation. Tonic cramps are characterized by prolonged muscle contraction, which causes a prolonged forced tense position.

Tahilalia is a speech disorder, expressed in excessive speed of its tempo (20-30 sounds per second), related in nature to battarism. In contrast to the latter, tachylalia is a deviation from normal speech only in relation to its tempo, with full preservation of phonetic design, as well as vocabulary and grammatical structure.

Tremor – rhythmic oscillatory movements of the limbs, head, tongue, etc. with damage to the nervous system.

Phonetic-phonemic underdevelopment is a violation of the process of formation of the pronunciation system of the native language in children with various speech disorders due to defects in the perception and pronunciation of phonemes.

Phonemic analysis and synthesis are mental activities of analyzing or synthesizing the sound structure of a word.

Phonemic hearing is a subtle, systematized hearing that has the ability to carry out operations of discrimination and recognition of phonemes that make up the sound shell of a word.

Phoniatrics is a branch of medicine that studies dental problems and pathology. vocal cords and larynx, leading to voice disorders (dysphonia), methods of treatment and prevention of voice disorders, as well as methods for correcting a normal voice in the desired direction. Voice disturbances can also occur as a result of certain psychological disorders. The solution to some problems in phoniatrics is closely related to the problems of speech therapy.

Cerebral – cerebral, belonging to the brain.

Expressive speech is active oral and written expression.

Extirpation (of the larynx) – removal.

An embolus is a substrate circulating in the blood that is not found under normal conditions and can cause blockage of a blood vessel.

Speech embolus is one of the most common words, part of a word or short phrase before the disease, repeated many times by the patient when trying to speak. It is one of the speech symptoms of motor aphasia.

Etiology is the cause of a disease or pathological condition.

Efferent kinetic praxis is the ability to produce a series of speech sounds. Efferent articulatory praxis is fundamentally different from afferent one in that it requires the ability to switch from one articulatory posture to another. These switches are complex in the way they are executed. They involve mastering inserted fragments of articulatory actions - coarticulations, which are “connections” between individual articulatory poses. Without coarticulation, a word cannot be pronounced, even if every sound included in it is available for reproduction.

Echolalia is the involuntary repetition of heard sounds, words or phrases.

Where did you get the idea that with alalia, intellect is primarily preserved. Volkova, Kornev, Kovshikov just note the possibility of UO in children with alalia. And from the definition of alalia, it in no way follows that the intellect is primarily preserved. You are confusing with the definition of OHP.

This definition was accepted in speech therapy and was published in the “Conceptual and Termenological Dictionary of Speech Therapists” edited by V. I. Seliverstov (Reviewers: Academician of the Russian Academy of Education, Doctor of Psychology, Professor V. I. Lubovsky, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Education, Doctor of Psychology Sciences, Professor V. A. Slastenin, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor L. S. Volkova, Doctor medical sciences, Professor E.M. Mastyukova). You can argue with these respected experts.

Read the definitions more carefully. With mental retardation, alalia can appear, but alalia can also appear with initially intact intelligence - due to organic damage to the speech zones of the cerebral cortex in the prenatal or early period of a child’s development (this definition is published in the classic textbook “Speech Therapy. Textbook for Higher Education”)

The speech therapist should clearly understand that alalia does not equate to mental retardation and carry out an accurate diagnosis of the child. This is extremely important for building correctional work, you need to differentiate between such diagnoses and know the difference between these concepts well. Naturally, serious speech impairments with alalia can lead to a delay in some mental processes, but specifically to mental retardation, and not to mental retardation.

Alalia is an independent diagnosis that can be diagnosed both in cases of mental retardation and in children with primarily intact intelligence.

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What is perseveration? The concept of perseveration in speech therapy and psychology

Perseveration refers to psychological, mental and neuropathological phenomena in which there is an obsessive and frequent repetition of actions, words, phrases and emotions. Moreover, repetitions appear both in oral and written form. Repeating the same words or thoughts, a person often does not control himself when communicating verbally. Perseveration can also manifest itself in nonverbal communication based on gestures and body movements.

Manifestations

Based on the nature of perseveration, the following types of its manifestation are distinguished:

  • Perseveration of thinking or intellectual manifestations. It is distinguished by the “settling” in the human creation of certain thoughts or its ideas, manifested in the process of verbal communication. A perseverative phrase can often be used by a person when answering questions to which it has absolutely nothing to do. Also, a person with perseveration can pronounce such phrases out loud to himself. A characteristic manifestation of this type of perseveration is constant attempts to return to the topic of conversation, which has long been stopped talking about or the issue in it has been resolved.
  • Motor type of perseveration. Such a manifestation as motor perseveration is directly related to a physical disorder in the premotor nucleus of the brain or subcortical motor layers. This is a type of perseveration that manifests itself in the form of repeating physical actions repeatedly. This can be either the simplest movement or a whole complex of different body movements. Moreover, they are always repeated equally and clearly, as if according to a given algorithm.
  • Speech perseveration. It is classified as a separate subtype of the motor type perseveration described above. These motor perseverations are characterized by constant repetition of the same words or entire phrases. Repetition can manifest itself in oral and written form. This deviation is associated with lesions of the lower part of the premotor nucleus of the human cortex in the left or right hemisphere. Moreover, if a person is left-handed, then we are talking about damage to the right hemisphere, and if a person is right-handed, then, accordingly, to the left hemisphere of the brain.

Reasons for the manifestation of perseveration

There are neuropathological, psychopathological and psychological reasons for the development of perseveration.

Repetition of the same phrase, caused by the development of perseveration, can occur against the background of neuropathological reasons. These most often include:

  • Traumatic brain injuries that damage the lateral region of the orbitofrontal cortex. Or it is due to the physical types of damage to the frontal convexities.
  • For aphasia. Perseveration often develops against the background of aphasia. It is a condition characterized by pathological deviations of previously formed human speech. Similar changes occur in the event of physical damage to the centers in the cerebral cortex responsible for speech. They can be caused by trauma, tumors or other types of influences.
  • Transferred local pathologies in the frontal lobe of the brain. These may be similar pathologies, as is the case with aphasia.

Psychiatrists, as well as psychologists, call perseveration deviations of a psychological type that occur against the background of dysfunctions occurring in the human body. Often, perseveration acts as an additional disorder and is an obvious sign of the formation of a complex phobia or other syndrome in a person.

If a person shows signs of developing perseveration, but has not suffered severe forms of stress or traumatic brain injury, this may indicate the development of both psychological and mental forms deviations.

If we talk about the psychopathological and psychological reasons for the development of perseveration, there are several main ones:

  • Tendency to increased and obsessive selectivity of interests. Most often this manifests itself in people characterized by autistic disorders.
  • The desire to constantly learn and learn, to learn something new. It occurs mainly in gifted people. But the main problem is that that person may become fixated on certain judgments or his activities. The existing line between perseveration and such a concept as perseverance is extremely insignificant and blurred. Therefore, with an excessive desire to develop and improve oneself, serious problems can develop.
  • Feeling of lack of attention. Occurs in hyperactive people. The development of perseverative inclinations in them is explained by an attempt to attract increased attention to themselves or their activities.
  • Obsession with ideas. Against the background of obsession, a person can constantly repeat the same physical actions caused by obsession, that is, obsession with thoughts. The simplest, but very understandable example of obsession is the desire of a person to constantly keep his hands clean and wash them regularly. A person explains this by saying that he is afraid of contracting terrible infections, but such a habit can develop into a pathological obsession, which is called perseveration.

It is important to be able to distinguish when one person simply has strange habits in the form of constant hand washing, or whether it is obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is also not uncommon for repetitions of the same actions or phrases to be caused by a memory disorder, and not by perseveration.

Features of treatment

There is no universally recommended treatment algorithm for perseveration. Therapy is carried out based on the use of a whole range of different approaches. One method should not be used as the only method of treatment. It is necessary to take new methods if the previous ones did not produce results. Roughly speaking, treatment is based on constant trial and error, which ultimately makes it possible to find the optimal method of influencing a person suffering from perseveration.

The presented methods of psychological influence can be applied alternately or sequentially:

  • Expectation. It is the basis in psychotherapy for people suffering from perseveration. The point is to wait for changes in the nature of the deviations that have arisen against the background of the use of various methods of influence. That is, the waiting strategy is used in conjunction with any other method, which we will discuss below. If no changes occur, switch to other psychological methods of influence, expect results and act according to the circumstances.
  • Prevention. It is not uncommon for two types of perseveration (motor and intellectual) to occur together. This makes it possible to prevent such changes in time. The essence of the technique is based on the exclusion of physical manifestations that people most often talk about.
  • Redirection. This is a psychological technique based on a sharp change in ongoing actions or current thoughts. That is, when communicating with a patient, you can suddenly change the topic of conversation or move from one physical exercise or movement to another.
  • Limitation. The method is aimed at consistently reducing a person’s attachment. This is achieved by limiting repetitive actions. A simple but clear example is to limit the amount of time a person is allowed to sit at a computer.
  • Abrupt cessation. This is a method of actively getting rid of perseverative attachment. This method is based on the effect of introducing the patient into a state of shock. This can be achieved through harsh and loud phrases, or by visualizing how harmful the patient’s obsessive thoughts or movements or actions can be.
  • Ignoring. The method involves completely ignoring the manifestations of the disorder in a person. This approach works best if the disorders were caused by attention deficit. If a person does not see the point in what he is doing, since there is no effect, he will soon stop repeating obsessive actions or phrases.
  • Understanding. Another relevant strategy with which the psychologist recognizes the patient’s train of thought in case of deviations or in the absence of them. This approach often allows a person to independently understand his thoughts and actions.

Perseveration is a fairly common disorder that can be caused by various reasons. When perseveration occurs, it is important to choose a competent treatment strategy. Medication is not used in this case.

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Terms that are used in speech therapy, defectology, psychology, neurology.

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Motor alalia - underdevelopment of expressive speech with fairly intact speech understanding;

Sensory alalia - underdevelopment of impressive speech, when there is a gap between the meaning and the sound envelope of words; the child’s understanding of the speech of others is impaired, despite intact hearing and the ability to develop active speech;

A speech pathologist-speech therapist is a specialist with higher education in the field of study, training, and socialization of people with speech disorders

Physiological iteration is the repetition by children of certain sounds and (or) syllables, due to age-related imperfections in the activity of the auditory and speech motor analyzers during the period of speech formation in preschool childhood.

Nystagmus is involuntary rhythmic convulsive movements of the eyeballs.

Nootropics are medications that improve the nutrition of nerve cells.

A passive dictionary is a stock of understandable words.

Tonic cramps are prolonged muscle contractions due to a single impulse.

Perseveration refers to psychological, mental and neuropathological phenomena in which there is an obsessive and frequent repetition of actions, words, phrases and emotions. Moreover, repetitions appear both in oral and written form. Repeating the same words or thoughts, a person often does not control himself when communicating verbally. Perseveration can also manifest itself in nonverbal communication based on gestures and body movements.

Manifestations

Based on the nature of perseveration, the following types of its manifestation are distinguished:

  • Perseveration of thinking or intellectual manifestations. It is distinguished by the “settling” in the human creation of certain thoughts or its ideas, manifested in the process of verbal communication. A perseverative phrase can often be used by a person when answering questions to which it has absolutely nothing to do. Also, a person with perseveration can pronounce such phrases out loud to himself. A characteristic manifestation of this type of perseveration is constant attempts to return to the topic of conversation, which has long been stopped talking about or the issue in it has been resolved.
  • Motor type of perseveration. Such a manifestation as motor perseveration is directly related to a physical disorder in the premotor nucleus of the brain or subcortical motor layers. This is a type of perseveration that manifests itself in the form of repeating physical actions repeatedly. This can be either the simplest movement or a whole complex of different body movements. Moreover, they are always repeated equally and clearly, as if according to a given algorithm.
  • Speech perseveration. It is classified as a separate subtype of the motor type perseveration described above. These motor perseverations are characterized by constant repetition of the same words or entire phrases. Repetition can manifest itself in oral and written form. This deviation is associated with lesions of the lower part of the premotor nucleus of the human cortex in the left or right hemisphere. Moreover, if a person is left-handed, then we are talking about damage to the right hemisphere, and if a person is right-handed, then, accordingly, to the left hemisphere of the brain.

Reasons for the manifestation of perseveration

There are neuropathological, psychopathological and psychological reasons for the development of perseveration.

Repetition of the same phrase, caused by the development of perseveration, can occur against the background of neuropathological reasons. These most often include:

  • Traumatic brain injuries that damage the lateral region of the orbitofrontal cortex. Or it is due to the physical types of damage to the frontal convexities.
  • For aphasia. Perseveration often develops against the background of aphasia. It is a condition characterized by pathological deviations of previously formed human speech. Similar changes occur in the event of physical damage to the centers in the cerebral cortex responsible for speech. They can be caused by trauma, tumors or other types of influences.
  • Transferred local pathologies in the frontal lobe of the brain. These may be similar pathologies, as is the case with aphasia.

Psychiatrists, as well as psychologists, call perseveration deviations of a psychological type that occur against the background of dysfunctions occurring in the human body. Often, perseveration acts as an additional disorder and is an obvious sign of the formation of a complex phobia or other syndrome in a person.

If a person shows signs of developing perseveration, but has not suffered severe forms of stress or traumatic brain injury, this may indicate the development of both psychological and mental forms of deviation.


If we talk about the psychopathological and psychological reasons for the development of perseveration, there are several main ones:

  • Tendency to increased and obsessive selectivity of interests. Most often this manifests itself in people characterized by autistic disorders.
  • The desire to constantly learn and learn, to learn something new. It occurs mainly in gifted people. But the main problem is that that person may become fixated on certain judgments or his activities. The existing line between perseveration and such a concept as perseverance is extremely insignificant and blurred. Therefore, with an excessive desire to develop and improve oneself, serious problems can develop.
  • Feeling of lack of attention. Occurs in hyperactive people. The development of perseverative inclinations in them is explained by an attempt to attract increased attention to themselves or their activities.
  • Obsession with ideas. Against the background of obsession, a person can constantly repeat the same physical actions caused by obsession, that is, obsession with thoughts. The simplest, but very understandable example of obsession is the desire of a person to constantly keep his hands clean and wash them regularly. A person explains this by saying that he is afraid of contracting terrible infections, but such a habit can develop into a pathological obsession, which is called perseveration.

It is important to be able to distinguish when one person simply has strange habits in the form of constant hand washing, or whether it is obsessive-compulsive disorder. It is also not uncommon for repetitions of the same actions or phrases to be caused by a memory disorder, and not by perseveration.


Features of treatment

There is no universally recommended treatment algorithm for perseveration. Therapy is carried out based on the use of a whole range of different approaches. One method should not be used as the only method of treatment. It is necessary to take new methods if the previous ones did not produce results. Roughly speaking, treatment is based on constant trial and error, which ultimately makes it possible to find the optimal method of influencing a person suffering from perseveration.

The presented methods of psychological influence can be applied alternately or sequentially:

  • Expectation. It is the basis in psychotherapy for people suffering from perseveration. The point is to wait for changes in the nature of the deviations that have arisen against the background of the use of various methods of influence. That is, the waiting strategy is used in conjunction with any other method, which we will discuss below. If no changes occur, switch to other psychological methods of influence, expect results and act according to the circumstances.
  • Prevention. It is not uncommon for two types of perseveration (motor and intellectual) to occur together. This makes it possible to prevent such changes in time. The essence of the technique is based on the exclusion of physical manifestations that people most often talk about.
  • Redirection. This is a psychological technique based on a sharp change in ongoing actions or current thoughts. That is, when communicating with a patient, you can suddenly change the topic of conversation or move from one physical exercise or movement to another.
  • Limitation. The method is aimed at consistently reducing a person’s attachment. This is achieved by limiting repetitive actions. A simple but clear example is to limit the amount of time a person is allowed to sit at a computer.
  • Abrupt cessation. This is a method of actively getting rid of perseverative attachment. This method is based on the effect of introducing the patient into a state of shock. This can be achieved through harsh and loud phrases, or by visualizing how harmful the patient’s obsessive thoughts or movements or actions can be.
  • Ignoring. The method involves completely ignoring the manifestations of the disorder in a person. This approach works best if the disorders were caused by attention deficit. If a person does not see the point in what he is doing, since there is no effect, he will soon stop repeating obsessive actions or phrases.
  • Understanding. Another relevant strategy with which the psychologist recognizes the patient’s train of thought in case of deviations or in the absence of them. This approach often allows a person to independently understand his thoughts and actions.

Perseveration is a fairly common disorder that can be caused by various reasons. When perseveration occurs, it is important to choose a competent treatment strategy. Medication is not used in this case.

coordination of motor acts). Their description is one of the well-developed sections

Damage to pyramidal and extrapyramidal structures spinal cord comes down to dysfunction

motor neurons, as a result of which the movements controlled by them are lost (or disrupted). Depending on the

level of spinal cord damage, motor functions of the upper or lower extremities are impaired (at

one or both sides), and all local motor reflexes are carried out, as a rule,

normally or even increase due to the elimination of cortical control. All these movement disorders are also discussed in detail in the neurology course.

Clinical observations of patients who have damage to one or another level of the pyramidal or extrapyramidal system,

made it possible to clarify the functions of these systems. Pyramid system responsible for the regulation of discrete, precise movements, completely subordinate to voluntary control and well afferented by “external” afferentation (visual, auditory). It controls complex spatially organized movements in which the whole body is involved. The pyramidal system primarily regulates phasic type of movements, that is, movements precisely dosed in time and space.

The extrapyramidal system controls mainly the involuntary components of voluntary movements; To In addition to the regulation of tone (the background of motor activity against which phasic short-term motor acts are played out), they include:

♦ regulation of physiological tremor;

♦ general coordination of motor acts;

The extrapyramidal system also controls a variety of motor skills, automatisms. In general, the extrapyramidal system is less corticolized than the pyramidal system, and the motor acts regulated by it are less voluntary than the movements regulated by the pyramidal system. It should, however, be remembered that the pyramidal and extrapyramidal systems are single efferent mechanism, different levels which reflect different stages of evolution. The pyramidal system, as an evolutionarily younger system, is to a certain extent a “superstructure” over the more ancient extrapyramidal structures, and its emergence in humans is primarily due to the development of voluntary movements and actions.

Disorders of voluntary movements and actions

Disturbances of voluntary movements and actions are complex movement disorders that are primarily associated with damage to cortical level motor functional systems.

This type of motor dysfunction is called in neurology and neuropsychology apraxia. By apraxia we mean such disturbances of voluntary movements and actions that are not accompanied by clear elementary movement disorders - paralysis and paresis, obvious disturbances of muscle tone and tremor, although combinations of complex and elementary movement disorders are possible.

Apraxia primarily refers to disorders of voluntary movements and actions performed with objects.

The history of the study of apraxia goes back many decades, but until now this problem cannot be considered completely solved. The difficulties of understanding the nature of apraxia are reflected in their classifications. The most famous classification, proposed at one time by G. Lipmann ( H. Lirtapp, 1920) and recognized by many modern researchers, distinguishes three forms of apraxia: ideational, which involves the disintegration of the “idea” of movement, its concept; kinetic, associated with a violation of the kinetic “images” of movement; ideomotor, which is based on the difficulties of transmitting “ideas” about movement to “movement execution centers.” G. Lipmann associated the first type of apraxia with diffuse brain damage, the second with damage to the cortex in the lower premotor region, and the third with damage to the cortex in the lower parietal region. Other researchers identified forms of apraxia in accordance with the affected motor organ (oral apraxia, apraxia of the trunk, apraxia of the fingers, etc.) (Ya. Nesaep, 1969, etc.) or with the nature of the disturbed movements and actions (apraxia of expressive facial movements, object apraxia, apraxia of imitative movements, apraxia of gait, agraphia, etc.) ( J. M. Nielsen, 1946, etc.). To date, there is no unified classification of apraxia. A. R. Luria developed a classification of apraxia based on a general understanding of the psychological structure and brain organization of a voluntary motor act. Summarizing his observations of disorders of voluntary movements and actions, using the method of syndromic analysis, which identifies the main leading factor in the origin of disorders of higher mental functions (including voluntary movements and actions), he identified four forms of apraxia (A. R. Luria, 1962, 1973, etc.). First he designated it as kinesthetic apraxia. This form of apraxia, first described by O.F.

Foerster (O. Foerster, 1936) in 1936, and later studied by G. Head (Ya. Head, 1920), D. Denny-Brown

(D. Denny- Brown, 1958) and other authors, occurs when there is a lesion lower sections the postcentral region of the cerebral cortex (i.e., the posterior sections of the cortical nucleus of the motor analyzer: 1, 2, partially 40th fields, predominantly of the left hemisphere). In these cases, there are no clear motor defects, muscle strength is sufficient, there are no paresis, but the kinesthetic basis of movements suffers. They become undifferentiated and poorly controlled (the “shovel hand” symptom). Patients have impaired movements when writing, the ability to correctly reproduce various hand postures (postural apraxia); They cannot show without an object how this or that action is performed (for example, how tea is poured into a glass, how a cigarette is lit, etc.). While the external spatial organization of movements is preserved, the internal proprioceptive kinesthetic afferentation of the motor act is disrupted.

With increased visual control, movements can be compensated to a certain extent. When the left hemisphere is damaged, kinesthetic apraxia is usually bilateral in nature; when the right hemisphere is damaged, it often manifests itself only in one left hand.

Second form apraxia, identified by A. R. Luria, - spatial apraxia, or apraktoagnosia, - occurs with damage to the parieto-occipital cortex at the border of the 19th and 39th fields, especially with damage to the left hemisphere (in right-handed people) or with bilateral lesions. The basis of this form of apraxia is a disorder of visual-spatial synthesis, a violation of spatial representations (“top-bottom”, “right-left”, etc.). Thus, in these cases, visuospatial afferentation of movements is affected. Spatial apraxia can also occur against the background of intact visual gnostic functions, but more often it is observed in combination with visual optical-spatial agnosia. Then a complex picture of apraktoagnosia arises. In all cases, patients experience apraxia of posture and difficulties in performing spatially oriented movements (for example, patients cannot make the bed, get dressed, etc.). Strengthening visual control of movements does not help them. There is no clear difference when performing movements with open and closed eyes. This type of disorder also includes constructive apraxia- difficulties in constructing a whole from individual elements (Koos cubes, etc.). With left-sided lesions of the parieto-occipital cortex

often arises optical-spatial agraphia due to the difficulties of correctly writing letters that are differently oriented in space.

Third form apraxial - kinetic apraxia- associated with damage to the lower parts of the premotor area of ​​the cerebral cortex (fields 6 and 8 - the anterior parts of the “cortical” nucleus of the motor analyzer). Kinetic apraxia is part of the premotor syndrome, i.e., it occurs against the background of impaired automation (temporal organization) of various mental functions. Manifests itself in the form of the disintegration of “kinetic melodies”, i.e. a violation of the sequence of movements, the temporary organization of motor acts. This form of apraxia is characterized by motor perseverations (elementary perseveration - as defined by A.R. Luria), manifested in the uncontrolled continuation of a movement that has once begun (especially one performed serially; Fig. 36, A).

Rice. 36. Perseveration of movements in patients with lesions of the anterior sections

A - elementary perseverations movements when drawing and writing in a patient with a massive intracerebral tumor

left frontal lobe: A- drawing a circle, b - writing the number 2, c - writing the number 5;

B- perseveration of movements when drawing a series of figures in a patient with an intracerebral tumor of the left frontal lobe

This form of apraxia was studied by a number of authors - K. Kleist ( TO. Kleist, 1907), O. Foerster ( ABOUT. Foerster, 1936), etc. It was studied in particular detail by A. R. Luria (1962, 1963, 1969, 1982, etc.), who established in this form of apraxia the commonality of disturbances in the motor functions of the hand and speech apparatus in the form of primary difficulties in automating movements and developing motor skills . Kinetic apraxia manifests itself in a violation of a wide variety of motor acts: object actions, drawing, writing, and in the difficulty of performing graphic tests, especially with the serial organization of movements ( dynamic apraxia). With damage to the lower premotor cortex of the left hemisphere (in right-handed people), kinetic apraxia is observed, as a rule, in both hands.

Fourth form apraxia - regulatory or prefrontal apraxia- occurs when the convexital prefrontal cortex is damaged anterior to the premotor areas; occurs against the background of almost complete preservation of tone and muscle strength. It manifests itself in the form of violations of the programming of movements, the disabling of conscious control over their execution, and the replacement of necessary movements with motor patterns and stereotypes. With a gross breakdown of voluntary regulation of movements, patients experience symptoms echopraxia in the form of uncontrolled imitative repetitions of the experimenter’s movements. With massive lesions of the left frontal lobe (in right-handed people), along with echopraxia, echolalia - imitative repetitions of heard words or phrases.

Regulatory apraxia is characterized by systemic perseverations(as defined by A.R. Luria), i.e., perseveration of the entire motor program as a whole, and not its individual elements (Fig. 36, B). Such patients, after writing under dictation in response to a proposal to draw a triangle, trace the outline of the triangle with movements characteristic of writing, etc. The greatest difficulties in these patients are caused by changing programs of movements and actions. The basis of this defect is a violation of voluntary control over the implementation of movement, a violation of speech regulation of motor acts. This form of apraxia most clearly manifests itself when the left prefrontal region of the brain is damaged in right-handed people. The classification of apraxia created by A. R. Luria is based mainly on the analysis of motor dysfunction in patients with damage to the left hemisphere of the brain. The forms of disturbance of voluntary movements and actions with damage to various cortical zones of the right hemisphere have been studied to a lesser extent; This is one of the urgent tasks of modern neuropsychology.

From the works of A. R. Luria

It is easy to see that all these mechanisms, which play a central role in the construction of types of voluntary movement of varying complexity, create a new idea of ​​voluntary movement as complex functional system, the activity of which, along with the anterior central gyri (which are only the “exit gates” of the motor act), involves a large set of cortical zones that extend beyond the anterior central gyri and provide (together with the corresponding subcortical apparatuses) the necessary types of afferent synthesis. Such sections that take an intimate part in the construction of a motor act are the postcentral sections of the cortex (providing kinesthetic syntheses), the parieto-occipital sections of the cortex (providing visuospatial syntheses), the premotor sections of the cortex (playing a significant role in ensuring the synthesis of successive impulses into a single kinetic melody ) and, finally, the frontal parts of the brain, which have important functions in subordinating movements to the original intention and in comparing the resulting effect of the action with the original intention.

It is natural therefore that damage to each of the mentioned areas can lead to disruption of voluntary motor acts. However, it is just as natural that a violation of a voluntary motor act when each of these zones is affected will have a unique character, different from other disorders. (A. R. Luria. The human brain and mental processes. - M.: Pedagogy, 1970. - P. 36-37.)

Perseveration

Perseveration (lat. perseveratio - perseverance). A repetitive action or emotion that is performed uncontrollably by a person diagnosed with brain damage or illness caused by a disorder of the nervous system.

Depending on the nature of this kind of repetition, motor and intellectual perseveration are distinguished. Motor perseveration involves reproducing a physical action: for example, writing a letter. If this is one action, then they speak of elementary motor perseveration; if a person repeats a whole complex of actions, then it is called systemic motor perseveration. A separate group of motor perseveration includes speech, which manifests itself in the reproduction (oral or written) of the same word.

Intellectual perseveration (perseveration of thinking) can be observed during verbal communication, when a person returns again and again to issues that have already lost their relevance. Perseveration is sometimes confused with stereotypy, however, despite the general tendency of obsessive reproduction, perseveration is distinguished by the fact that it acts as a result of associative activity and a component of consciousness. Patients suffering from perseveration are treated by specialists who first help determine the root cause, and then carry out a set of measures aimed at eliminating the repeated action (thought or word) from the daily activities of the subject.

In order to prevent the development of the syndrome in adulthood, parents are advised to pay attention to the child’s behavior for the presence of perseverative signs. These signs include: the child’s regular reproduction of the same phrases, regardless of the subject of the conversation; characteristic physical actions - for example, a child constantly touches some place on the body in the absence of physiological prerequisites for this; drawing identical objects over and over again.

World of Psychology

CATALOG OF PSYCHOLOGISTS

Perseveration

PERSEVERATION

Perseveration (from Latin perseveratio - persistence) is an obsessive repetition of the same movements, images, thoughts. There are motor, sensory and intellectual P.

Motor Perseveration - occurs when the anterior parts of the cerebral hemispheres are damaged and manifests itself either in repeated many times individual elements of movement (for example, when writing letters or when drawing); this form of P. occurs when the premotor parts of the cerebral cortex and underlying subcortical structures are damaged and is called “elementary” motor P. (according to the classification of A.R. Luria, 1962); or in repeated repetition of entire movements programs (for example, in repetition of movements necessary for drawing, instead of writing movements); This form of P. is observed when the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex are damaged and is called “systemic” motor P. A special form of motor P. is made up of motor speech P., which arise as one of the manifestations of efferent motor aphasia in the form of multiple repetitions of the same syllable, words in speech and writing. This form of motor P. occurs when the lower parts of the premotor region of the cortex of the left hemisphere are damaged (in right-handed people).

Sensory Perseverations occur when the cortical parts of the analyzers are damaged and manifest themselves in the form of obsessive repetition of sound, tactile or visual images, an increase in the duration of the aftereffect of the corresponding stimuli.

Intellectual Perseveration occurs when the cortex of the frontal lobes of the brain (usually the left hemisphere) is damaged and manifests itself in the form of repetition of inadequate stereotypical intellectual operations. Intellectual P., as a rule, appear when performing serial intellectual actions, for example. in arithmetic counting (subtract 7 from 100 until there is nothing left, etc.), when performing a series of tasks on analogies, classification of objects, etc., and reflect violations of control over intellectual activity, its programming, characteristic of “ frontal" patients. Intellectual P. are also characteristic of mentally retarded children as a manifestation of the inertia of nervous processes in the intellectual sphere. See also about perseverative images in the article Representations of Memory. (E.D. Chomskaya)

Great encyclopedia of psychiatry. Zhmurov V.A.

Perseveration (Latin persevero – stubbornly hold on, continue)

  • C Neisser's (1884) term refers to “the persistent repetition or continuation of an activity once begun, such as the repetition of a word in writing or speech in an inadequate context.” Usually, what is more often meant is perseveration of thinking, when the patient, in response to subsequent questions, repeats the answer to the last of the previous ones. Thus, having answered the question about his last name, the patient continues to give his last name in response to other, new questions.
  1. motor perseverations,
  2. sensory perseverations and
  3. emotional perseverations.
  • spontaneous and multiple repetitions of what has already been said and done are more often designated by the term iteration, and perceived or experienced by the term echonesia;
  • the tendency to continue to follow a certain pattern of behavior, with the implication that this tendency continues until it is recognized by the individual as inadequate.

Dictionary of psychiatric terms. V.M. Bleikher, I.V. Crook

Perseveration (Latin persevezo - stubbornly hold on, continue) - a tendency to get stuck in speech, thinking, “sustained repetition or continuation of an activity once started, for example, repetition of a word in written or oral speech in an inadequate context.” In addition to perseveration in thinking, motor, sensory and emotional perseverations are also distinguished.

Neurology. Full Dictionary. Nikiforov A.S.

Perseveration (from Latin persevero, perseveratum - to continue, to persist) is a pathological repetition of words or actions. Characteristic of damage to the premotor zones of the cerebral hemispheres.

Motor perseverations are disturbances in motor skills due to the inertia of stereotypes and the resulting difficulties in switching from one action to another, which arise when the premotor zone of the cerebral cortex is damaged. P.d. are especially distinct. in the hand contralateral to the pathological focus, but with damage to the left premotor zone they can appear in both hands.

Perseverative thinking is disordered thinking in which certain ideas and thoughts are repeated repeatedly. In this case, difficulties arise in switching from one thought to another.

Speech perseverations are a manifestation of efferent motor aphasia in the form of repetitions in speech of individual phonemes, syllables, words, and short phrases. It is typical for damage to the premotor zone of the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere of the brain.

Oxford Dictionary of Psychology

Perseveration - there are several common uses; they all contain the idea of ​​a tendency to persist, to persist.

  1. The tendency to continue following a particular pattern of behavior. Often used with the connotation that such perseveration continues until it becomes inadequate. Wed. with stereotypy.
  2. The tendency to repeat, with pathological persistence, a word or phrase.
  3. The tendency of certain memories, or ideas, or behavioral acts to be repeated without any (overt) stimulus for it. This term invariably carries a negative connotation. Wed. here with persistence.

subject area of ​​the term

MOTOR PERSEVERATION - unreasonable repeated repetition of the same movement, motor action contrary to intention

MOTOR PERSEVERATION - obsessive reproduction of the same movements or their elements (for example, writing letters or drawing). They differ:

  1. elementary motor perseveration - manifested in repeated repetition of individual elements of movement and arising when the premotor parts of the cerebral cortex (brain: cortex) and underlying subcortical structures are damaged;
  2. motor systemic perseveration - manifested in repeated repetition of entire movement programs and occurs when the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex are damaged;
  3. motor speech perseveration - manifested in repeated repetition of the same syllable or word (in oral speech and writing), arising as one of the manifestations of efferent motor aphasia with damage to the lower parts of the premotor region of the cortex of the left hemisphere (in right-handed people).

SENSORY PERSEVERATION - obsessive reproduction of the same sound, tactile or visual images, which occurs when the cortical parts of the analyzing systems of the brain are damaged.

RETROSPECTIVE FALSIFIATION - unconscious modification and distortion of previous experience in order to make it relevant to present needs. See Confabulation, which may or may not contain connotations of unconsciousness.

Systemic perseverations

Perseveration (Latin perseveratio - persistence, perseverance) is a stable repetition of a phrase, activity, emotion, sensation (depending on this, perseverations of thinking, motor, emotional, sensory perseverations are distinguished). For example, persistent repetition of a word in oral or written speech.

Perseveration of speech is the “getting stuck” in a person’s mind of one thought or one simple idea and their repeated and monotonous repetition in response, for example, to questions that have absolutely nothing to do with the original ones.

Motor perseverations - obsessive reproduction of the same movements or their elements (writing letters or drawing). There is a distinction between “elementary” motor perseveration, which manifests itself in multiple repetitions of individual elements of movement and occurs when the premotor parts of the cerebral cortex and underlying subcortical structures are damaged; and “systemic” motor perseveration, which manifests itself in repeated repetition of entire movement programs and occurs when the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex are damaged. There is also motor speech perseveration, which manifests itself in the form of multiple repetitions of the same syllable or word in oral speech and writing and occurs as one of the manifestations of efferent motor aphasia - with damage to the lower parts of the premotor region of the cortex of the left hemisphere (in right-handed people).

Systemic perseverations

Images and ideas about what was previously perceived appear in consciousness;

Information is retrieved from long-term memory and transferred to working memory;

A significant restructuring of the previously perceived content occurs.

Reproduction is selective, determined by needs, direction of activity and current experiences.
There are voluntary and involuntary, as well as immediate and delayed reproduction.

Inertia of the nervous system

From lat.Inertia - immobility

Inertia of the nervous system is a feature of nervous processes:

Consists in low mobility of processes in the nervous system;

Caused by difficulties in switching conditioned stimuli from positive mode to inhibitory mode (and vice versa).

At pathological disorders inertia can be expressed in the form of perseveration.

Intellectual perseveration

Intellectual perseveration is an obsessive reproduction of the same (inadequate) intellectual operations, which:

Appears in the form of serial intellectual actions: arithmetic calculation, establishing analogies, classification;

It occurs when the cortex of the frontal lobes of the brain (left hemisphere) is damaged, when control over intellectual activity is impaired.

Motor perseveration

Motor perseveration is an obsessive reproduction of the same movements or their elements. There are:

Elementary motor perseveration;

Systemic motor perseveration; and

Motor speech perseveration.

Motor speech perseveration

Motor speech perseveration is a motor perseveration that:

Manifests itself in the form of multiple repetitions of the same syllable or word in oral speech and writing; And

It occurs as one of the manifestations of efferent motor aphasia with damage to the lower parts of the premotor area of ​​the cortex of the left hemisphere (in right-handed people).

Sensory perseveration

Sensory perseveration is an obsessive reproduction of the same sound, tactile or visual images, which occurs when the cortical parts of the analyzing systems are damaged.

Systemic motor perseveration

Systemic motor perseveration is a motor perseveration that:

Manifests itself in multiple repetitions of entire movement programs; And

Occurs when the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex are damaged.

Elementary motor perseveration

Elementary motor perseveration is a motor perseveration that:

Manifests itself in repeated repetition of individual elements of movement; And

Occurs when the premotor parts of the cerebral cortex and underlying subcortical structures are damaged.

Perseveration

Translated from Latin, this violation means tenacity, perseverance. A person suffering from perseveration is characterized by a persistent repetition of certain phrases, actions, sensations, the same applies to emotions. Taking into account these features, perseveration of various types is distinguished - motor, emotional, sensory, as well as perseveration of thinking. For example, the patient persistently repeats a word, orally or in writing. Perseveration of speech is a kind of “stuck” in the patient’s mind of a specific thought, including, it can be a simple idea, or multiple monotonous repetition in response to the statements of the interlocutor. Moreover, such answers are not even indirectly related to the topic of conversation.

Monotonous perseverations are an obsessive reproduction of identical movements, or their constituent elements. Often this concerns drawing or writing letters. There is a difference between “elementary” motor perseveration, which manifests itself as multiple repetitions of individual motor elements, and “systemic” motor perseveration, which represents multiple duplication of entire motor programs. It is known that any idea that has entered the patient’s consciousness is endowed with a tendency to be repeated many times when certain associations arise, and given certain circumstances, this tendency manifests itself especially clearly.

Basically, perseverations are typical if the patient has damage to the premotor zones of the cerebral hemispheres. In everyday life, perseverations are often a consequence of fatigue. In addition, this disorder explains dreams that have an affective overtones and are rich in experiences. All people are prone to this disease, but children are more susceptible to it. But scientists suggest that each individual has his own degree of resistance to perseveration. Based on this, there have even been attempts to identify a special type of people who have an increased ability to get stuck in various mental experiences. That is, they belong to the so-called persevering psychopaths.

Causes of perseveration

Experts explain the occurrence of perseveration for many reasons, for example, if we are talking about “elementary” motor perseveration, then the cause of its occurrence is damage to the cerebral cortex, its premotor parts, and the disease also occurs if the underlying subcortical structures are damaged. In a situation where the lesion is localized in the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex, “systemic” motor perseveration occurs. The reason for repeated repetitions of the same word is often damage to the lower parts of the cortex of the left hemisphere. In most cases, this applies to right-handed people.

A tendency to the occurrence of perseveration can be observed in the case of local brain lesions, including if there are emotional disorders, motor and speech disorders. It has also been proven that the cause of perseveration is not always pathological processes in the brain. In some cases, a similar condition can occur during acute fatigue. It is assumed that the basis of perseveration is the processes of cyclic excitations in the neural structure, which are associated with the fact that the arrival of the signal that the action has stopped is delayed.

Perseveration is sometimes confused with stereotypy, which is characterized by endless repetition of motor or speech manifestations. The difference is that their action is not caused, as in perseveration, by the content of consciousness and associative activity. In this case, with stereotypy, it happens completely by accident. Also, it is necessary to distinguish perseveration from obsessive phenomena, which always contain elements of obsession, experienced subjectively, despite the fact that the patient is aware of the meaninglessness of such ideas, understands the absurdity of the actions or movements performed, and so on.

Treatment of this disorder, like any other disease, begins with diagnosis and examination by a doctor. More often Clinical signs Perseverations are speech deviations, but other mental formations, for example, affects, are also capable of perseveration. Particularly common are complexes of ideas that have a bright color and affective tone. It is known that perseveration occurs as an accompaniment of a number of mental and nervous diseases, for example, the cause may be genuine epilepsy, arteriosclerosis, organic dementia. In this regard, the doctor begins to treat the primary problem that caused the perseveration.

To diagnose perseveration, specialists often use a special technique that includes seven separate subtests. They consist in the fact that the patient writes words first in the usual order, and then in the reverse order. Also, phrases are written in upper and lower case letters, all text is read in reverse order and in direct order. When applying the test, the patient goes through the maze, taking into account the available indicators, in the opposite direction, writes numbers, both in normal form and inverted. Performs a series of multiplications according to the table, with intermediate links specified incorrectly. In each subtest performed, the doctor compares two assessments - these are the numbers of correct and incorrect calculations made per minute.

It is known that among the various reasons that cause perseveration, the highest rate is observed in patients who suffer from epilepsy. In Europe, the treatment of this type of disorder is dominated by medicinal methods, mainly a group of drugs called antipsychotics. When they are used, a change occurs in the pathological processes of the brain, helping to bring them closer to normal.

Systemic perseverations

Perseveration is a stable reproduction of any statement, activity, emotional reaction, sensation. Hence, motor, sensory, intellectual and emotional perseverations are distinguished. The concept of perseveration, in other words, is a “stuck” in the human consciousness of a certain thought, a simple idea, or their repeated and monotonous reproduction as an answer to the previous last interrogative statement (intellectual perseveration). There are spontaneous and repeated repetitions of what has already been said or accomplished, often referred to as iterations, and reproductions of experiences, referred to as echonesia.

What is perseveration

Perseveration is considered a very unpleasant manifestation of obsessive behavior. A characteristic feature is the reproduction of a certain physical action, phoneme, representation, phrase.

A typical example is a song that gets stuck in your head for a long time. Many subjects noticed that they wanted to repeat certain word forms or melody out loud for a certain period. Such a phenomenon, naturally, is a weak analogy of the deviation in question, but this is precisely the meaning of perseverative manifestations.

Individuals suffering from this disorder have absolutely no control over their own person at such moments. Intrusive repetition appears absolutely spontaneously and also suddenly stops.

The deviation in question is found in the persistent reproduction of an idea, manipulation, experience, phrase or concept. Such repetition often develops into an obsessive, uncontrollable form; the individual himself may not even detect what is happening to him. Thus, the concept of perseveration is a phenomenon caused by a psychological disorder, mental deviation or neuropathological disorder of an individual's behavioral patterns and speech.

Such behavior is also possible in cases of severe fatigue or distraction, not only in cases of mental illness or neurological disorders. It is believed that the basis of perseveration is the processes of repeated excitation of neural elements caused by the delay of the signal about the end of the action.

The violation in question is often mistaken for stereotypy, however, despite the general desire for obsessive repetition, perseveration is distinguished by the fact that it is the result of associative activity and a structural component of consciousness. Subjects suffering from perseveration undergo therapy with doctors who first help identify the root cause, after which they carry out a set of measures aimed at eliminating the reproducible thought, phrase, or repeated action from the daily life of the subject.

In order to prevent the formation of the described syndrome in adults, parents should carefully monitor the baby’s behavioral response for signs of perseveration. We can distinguish the following “attributes” of the violation in question: regular repetition of one tiny phrase that does not correspond to the topic of the conversation, characteristic actions (a baby, for example, can constantly touch a certain area on the body in the absence of physiological prerequisites), constant drawing of identical objects.

In childhood, there are specific manifestations of perseveration due to the peculiarities of the psychology of children, their physiology, and the active change in life guidelines and values ​​of the little ones. different stages growing up. This gives rise to certain difficulties in differentiating the symptoms of perseveration from the conscious actions of the baby. In addition, manifestations of perseveration can camouflage more serious mental disorders.

For the sake of more early detection possible mental disorders in a child, you should carefully monitor the manifestations of perseverative symptoms, namely:

– systematic reproduction of one statement regardless of circumstances and the question asked;

– the presence of certain operations that are repeated invariably: touching a certain area of ​​the body, scratching, narrowly focused activity;

– repeated drawing of one object, writing a word;

– invariably repeated requests, the need for fulfillment of which is highly doubtful within the boundaries of specific situational conditions.

Causes of perseveration

This disorder often arises as a result of physical effects on the brain. In addition, the individual has difficulty switching attention.

The main reasons for the neurological nature of the described syndrome are:

– suffered localized brain lesions, reminiscent of aphasia (an illness in which the individual cannot pronounce verbal structures correctly);

– obsessive reproduction of actions and phrases appears as a result of already existing aphasia;

– traumatic brain injury with lesions of the lateral segments of the cortex or the anterior zone, where the prefrontal convexity is located.

In addition to neurological causes associated with brain damage, there are psychological factors, contributing to the development of perseveration.

The persistence of reproducing phrases and manipulations arises as a result of stressors that affect subjects for a long time. This phenomenon often accompanied by phobias, when a defense mechanism is activated by reproducing operations of the same type, which give the individual a feeling of non-danger and calm.

If autism is suspected, excessively scrupulous selectivity in certain actions or interests is also noted.

The described phenomenon is often detected with hyperactivity, if the child believes that he is not receiving enough attention, in his opinion. In this case, perseveration also acts as a component of defense, which in the child’s subconscious compensates for the lack of outside attention. Similar behavior The baby seeks to attract attention to his own actions or attention.

The phenomenon in question often appears among scientists. An individual is constantly learning something new, striving to learn something important, which is why he becomes fixated on a certain little thing, statement or action. Often the behavior described characterizes such an individual as a stubborn and persistent person, but sometimes such actions are interpreted as a deviation.

Intrusive repetition can often be a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is expressed in following a certain idea that forces the individual to constantly commit concrete actions(compulsions), or in the persistence of some thought (obsession). Such persistent repetition can be seen when the subject washes his hands, often unnecessarily.

Perseveration must be distinguished from other illnesses or stereotypes. Phrases or actions of a repetitive nature are often a manifestation of an established habit, sclerosis, subjective annoying phenomena in which patients understand the strangeness, absurdity and meaninglessness of their own behavioral patterns. In turn, with perseveration, individuals do not realize the abnormality of their own actions.

If an individual develops signs of perseveration, but there is no history of stress or trauma to the skull, this often indicates the occurrence of both psychological and mental variations of the disorder.

Types of perseveration

Based on the nature of the disorder under consideration, the following variations are distinguished, as already listed above: perseveration of thinking, perseveration of speech and motor perseveration.

The first type of deviation described is characterized by the individual’s “fixation” on a certain thought or idea that arises during communicative verbal interaction. A perseverative phrase can often be used by an individual to answer the above questions, without having anything to do with the meaning of the interrogative statement. Jamming on one representation is expressed in stable reproduction of a certain word or phrase. More often this is the correct response to the first interrogative sentence. The patient gives a primary answer to further questions. Characteristic manifestations of perseveration of thinking are considered to be sustained efforts to return to the subject of conversation, which has not been discussed for a long time.

A similar condition is inherent in atrophic processes occurring in the brain (Alzheimer's or Pick's disease). It can also be detected in traumatic psychosis and vascular disorders.

Motor perseveration is manifested by repeated repetition of physical operations, both simple manipulations and a whole set of various body movements. At the same time, perseverative movements are always reproduced clearly and equally, as if according to an established algorithm. There are elementary, systemic and speech motor perseverations.

The elementary form of the described deviation is expressed in repeated reproduction of individual details of movement and arises as a result of damage to the cerebral cortex and underlying subcortical elements.

The systemic type of perseveration is found in the repeated reproduction of entire complexes of movements. It occurs due to damage to the prefrontal segments of the cerebral cortex.

The speech type of the pathology in question is manifested by repeated reproduction of a word, phoneme or phrase (in writing or in oral conversation). Occurs in aphasia due to damage to the lower segments of the premotor zone. Moreover, in left-handed people this deviation occurs if the Right side, and in right-handed individuals – when the left segment of the brain is damaged, respectively. In other words, the type of perseveration under consideration arises as a result of damage to the dominant hemisphere.

Even in the presence of partial aphasic deviations, patients also do not notice differences in the reproduction, writing or reading of syllables or words that are similar in pronunciation (for example, “ba-pa”, “sa-za”, “cathedral-fence”), they confuse letters that sound similar .

Perseveration of speech is characterized by persistent repetition of words, statements, phrases in written or oral speech.

In the mind of a subject suffering from speech perseveration, it is as if a thought or word is “stuck”, which he repeats repeatedly and monotonously during communicative interaction with interlocutors. In this case, the reproduced phrase or word has no relation to the subject of the conversation. The patient's speech is characterized by monotony.

Treatment of perseveration

The basis of the therapeutic strategy in the correction of perseverative anomalies is always a systematic psychological approach based on alternating stages. It is not recommended to use one technique as the only method of corrective action. It is necessary to use new strategies if the previous ones did not bring results.

More often, the treatment course is based on trial and error rather than a standardized therapy algorithm. If neurological brain pathologies are detected, therapy is combined with appropriate medication. From pharmacopoeial drugs use weak sedatives central action. Nootropics must be prescribed along with multivitaminization. Speech perseveration also requires speech therapy.

Corrective action begins with testing, based on the results of which an examination is prescribed, if necessary. Testing consists of a list of elementary questions and solving certain problems, which often contain some kind of catch.

Below are the main stages of the strategy psychological assistance, which can be applied sequentially or alternately.

The waiting strategy consists of waiting for changes in the course of perseverative deviations due to the appointment of certain therapeutic measures. This strategy is explained by its resistance to the disappearance of perseveration symptoms.

A preventive strategy involves preventing the occurrence of motor perseveration against the background of intellectual perseveration. Since perseverative thinking often awakens the motor type of the deviation in question, as a result of which these two variations of the disorder coexist in the aggregate. This strategy allows you to prevent such transformation in a timely manner. The essence of the technique is to protect the individual from those physical operations that he often talks about.

The redirection strategy consists of an emotional attempt or physical effort by a specialist to distract the sick subject from annoying thoughts or manipulations, through a sharp change in the subject of the conversation at the time of the current perseverative manifestation or nature of actions.

The limiting strategy implies a consistent reduction in perseverative attachment by limiting the individual in performing actions. Limitation allows for intrusive activity, but in a clearly defined quantity. For example, access to computer entertainment for the permitted time.

The abrupt termination strategy is based on the active removal of perseverative attachments by shocking the patient. An example here is the sudden, loud phrases “This is not there!” All!" or visualizing the damage caused by intrusive manipulations or thoughts.

The strategy of ignoring is an attempt to completely ignore the manifestations of perseveration. The technique is very effective if the etiological factor of the deviation in question is attention deficit. An individual, not receiving the expected result, simply does not see the point in further reproducing actions.

The strategy of understanding is an attempt to understand the true flow of the patient’s thoughts during the course of perseverative manifestations, as well as in their absence. Often this behavior helps the subject to put his own actions and thoughts in order.

Features of the course of perseveration in adulthood and childhood. Treatment of deviation

Perseveration is a phenomenon of a psychological, mental or neuropathological nature, characterized by obsessive, frequent repetition of a physical action, a word or an entire phrase in written or oral speech, as well as certain emotions.

Depending on the nature of the manifestation, there are:

  • Perseveration of thinking. It is characterized by anchoring in a person’s mind a specific thought or a simple, uncomplicated idea, which often manifests itself in verbal communication. With a perseverative phrase or word, a person can answer questions that have absolutely nothing to do with it, speak it out loud to himself, and so on. A classic manifestation of perseveration of thinking is the constant return to a topic of conversation that has already been closed and is considered resolved,
  • Motor perseveration. The etiology of motor perseveration is associated with physical damage to the premotor nuclei of the cerebral cortex and motor subcortical layer. This type of perseveration is expressed in the repetition of one physical movement many times - elementary motor perseveration or a whole complex of movements with a clear algorithm - systemic motor perseveration.

Motor speech perseveration, when a person repeats the same word or writes it, can also be classified as a separate subtype of motor perseveration. This type of deviation is characterized by damage to the lower parts of the premotor nuclei of the cortex of the left hemisphere in right-handers and the right - in left-handers.

Fundamental factors and features of the genesis of perseverative deviations

The neurological etiology of perseveration is the most common, it is characterized by a wide range of atypical personality behavior due to physical damage to the cerebral hemispheres, which causes dysfunction in switching from one type of activity to another, changing the train of thought, the algorithm of actions for performing some task, and so on. when the perseverative component dominates objective actions or thoughts.

The causes of perseveration against the background of neuropathology include:

  • traumatic brain injury with predominant damage to areas of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex or its prefrontal convexity,
  • as a consequence of aphasia (aphasia is a pathological condition in which deviations occur in a person’s speech, which was already formed earlier. Occurs due to physical damage to the speech centers in the cerebral cortex as a result of traumatic brain injuries, tumors, encephalitis),
  • transferred localized pathologies in the area of ​​the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex, similar to aphasia.

Perseveration in psychology and psychiatry reflects the course of deviation against the background of psychological dysfunction in a person and, as a rule, is an additional sign of complex syndromes and phobias.

The occurrence of perseveration in a person who has not suffered traumatic brain injury or severe stress can serve as the first sign of the development of not only psychological, but also mental disorders.

The main etiological factors of psychological and psychopathological directions in the development of perseverative manifestations may be:

  • obsessiveness and high selectivity of individual interests, which is most typical for persons with autism spectrum disorders,
  • a feeling of lack of attention against the background of hyperactivity can stimulate the manifestation of perseveration as a protective compensatory phenomenon aimed at attracting attention to oneself or one’s type of activity,
  • insistence on constant learning and the desire to learn new things can lead gifted individuals to become fixated on a specific judgment or type of activity. The line between persistence and perseveration is very blurred,
  • the complex of symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder often includes the development of perseverative deviations.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder is an obsession that causes a person to perform certain physical actions (compulsions) due to obsessive thoughts (obsessions). A striking example obsessive-compulsive disorder is frequent washing hands in fear of contracting a terrible infectious disease or taking different drugs in order to prevent possible diseases.

Regardless of the etiological factors, perseveration must be differentiated from obsessive-compulsive disorder, normal human habits, and also from sclerotic memory disorders, when a person repeats the same words or actions due to forgetfulness.

Features of perseverative deviations in childhood

Manifestation of perseverations in childhood is a very common occurrence due to the characteristics of child psychology, physiology and a fairly active change life values child at different stages of growing up. This creates certain difficulties in distinguishing perseverative symptoms from the child’s intentional actions, and also camouflages the manifestation of signs of more serious mental pathologies.

In order to early identify mental disorders in their child, parents should be more attentive to the manifestation of perseverative signs, the most common of which are:

  • regular repetition of the same phrases, regardless of the situation and the question posed,
  • the presence of certain actions that are repeated regularly: touching some place on the body, scratching, narrowly focused play activity, and so on,
  • drawing the same objects, writing the same word repeatedly,
  • regularly repeated requests, the need for fulfillment of which is questionable within a specific situation.

Help with perseverative deviations

The basis for the treatment of perseverative deviations is always a comprehensive psychological approach with alternating stages. Rather, it is a trial and error method than a standardized treatment algorithm. In the presence of neurological pathologies brain, treatment is combined with appropriate drug therapy. Among the drugs used are groups of weak sedatives central action, with the mandatory use of nootropics against the background of multivitaminization.

The main stages of psychological assistance for perseveration, which can either alternate or be applied sequentially:

  1. Waiting strategy. The fundamental factor in psychotherapy is perseveration. It consists of expecting any changes in the nature of the deviations due to the use of any therapeutic measures. This strategy is explained by the resistance of the symptoms of deviation to disappearance.
  2. Prevention strategy. Often, perseveration of thinking gives rise to motor perseveration, and these two types begin to exist together, which makes it possible to prevent such a transition in a timely manner. The essence of the method is to protect a person from the physical activity that he talks about most often.
  3. Redirection strategy. A physical or emotional attempt by a specialist to distract the patient from obsessive thoughts or actions by abruptly changing the topic of conversation at the moment of the next perseverative manifestation, changing the nature of actions.
  4. Limitation strategy. This method allows you to consistently reduce perseverative attachment by limiting a person in his actions. The limit allows obsessive activity, but in strictly defined volumes. A classic example is access to a computer for a strictly designated time.
  5. Abrupt termination strategy. Aimed at actively eliminating perseverative attachments using the patient’s shock state. An example would be unexpected, loud statements “That's it! This is not the case! It doesn't exist! or visualizing harm from obsessive actions or thoughts.
  6. Ignoring strategy. An attempt to completely ignore perseverative manifestations. The method is very good when etiological factor the violation was caused by a lack of attention. Without getting the desired effect, the patient simply does not see the point in his actions,
  7. Understanding strategy. An attempt to find out the patient’s true train of thought at the time of deviations and in their absence. Often this helps the patient himself to put his actions and thoughts in order.

Anxiety is common to all people to one degree or another, and many of us sometimes perform rituals of varying degrees of irrationality designed to insure us against trouble - banging our fist on the table or wearing a lucky T-shirt to an important event. But sometimes this mechanism gets out of control, causing a serious mental disorder. “Theories and Practices” explains what tormented Howard Hughes, how an obsession differs from schizophrenic delusion, and what magical thinking has to do with it.

Endless Ritual

Jack Nicholson's character in the famous film “As Good As It Gets” was distinguished not only by his complex character, but also by a whole set of oddities: he constantly washed his hands (with new soap each time), ate only with his own cutlery, avoided the touch of others and tried not to step on cracks on the asphalt. All these “eccentricities” are typical signs of obsessive-compulsive disorder, a mental illness in which a person is obsessed with obsessive thoughts that force him to regularly repeat the same actions. OCD is a real boon for a screenwriter: this disease is more common in people with high intelligence, it gives the character originality, noticeably interferes with his communication with others, but at the same time is not associated with a threat to society, unlike many other mental disorders. But in reality, the life of a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder cannot be called easy: behind innocent and even funny, at first glance, actions hide constant tension and fear.

It’s as if a record is stuck in such a person’s head: the same unpleasant thoughts regularly come to mind, having little rational basis. For example, he imagines that there are dangerous microbes everywhere, he is constantly afraid of hurting someone, losing something, or leaving the gas on when leaving home. He may be driven crazy by a leaking faucet or an asymmetrical arrangement of objects on the table.

The flip side of this obsession, that is, obsession, is compulsion, the regular repetition of the same rituals that should prevent the impending danger. A person begins to believe that the day will go well only if he reads a nursery rhyme three times before leaving the house, that he will protect himself from terrible diseases if he washes his hands several times in a row and uses his own cutlery. After the patient performs the ritual, he experiences relief for a while. 75% of patients suffer from both obsessions and compulsions at the same time, but there are cases when people experience only obsessions without performing rituals.

At the same time, obsessive thoughts differ from schizophrenic delusions in that the patient himself perceives them as absurd and illogical. He is not at all happy about washing his hands every half hour and zipping his fly five times in the morning - but he simply cannot get rid of the obsession any other way. The level of anxiety is too high, and rituals allow the patient to achieve temporary relief. But at the same time, the love of rituals, lists, or putting things on shelves in itself, if it does not bring discomfort to a person, is not considered a disorder. From this point of view, aesthetes who diligently arrange carrot peelings lengthwise in Things Organized Neatly are absolutely healthy.

The biggest problems for OCD patients are obsessions of an aggressive or sexual nature. Some people become afraid that they will do something bad to other people, even to the point of sexual violence and murders. Obsessive thoughts can take the form of individual words, phrases or even lines of poetry - a good illustration is an episode from the movie “The Shining”, where the main character, going crazy, begins to type the same phrase “all work and no play makes Jack” a dull boy.” A person with OCD experiences enormous stress - he is simultaneously horrified by his thoughts and tormented by a feeling of guilt for them, tries to resist them, and at the same time tries to ensure that the rituals he performs go unnoticed by others. In all other respects, his consciousness functions completely normally.

It is believed that obsessions and compulsions are closely related to “magical thinking” that arose at the dawn of humanity - the belief in the ability to take control of the world with the help of the right attitude and rituals. Magical thinking draws a direct parallel between mental desire and real consequence: If you draw a buffalo on the wall of a cave, setting yourself up for a successful hunt, you will certainly be lucky. Apparently, this way of perceiving the world originates in the deep mechanisms of human thinking: neither scientific and technological progress, nor logical arguments, nor sad personal experience proving the uselessness of magical passes free us from the need to look for relationships between random things. Some scientists believe that it is embedded in our neuropsychology - the automatic search for patterns that simplify the picture of the world helped our ancestors survive, and the most ancient parts of the brain still work according to this principle, especially in a stressful situation. Therefore, with an increased level of anxiety, many people begin to be afraid of their own thoughts, fearing that they may come true, and at the same time believe that a set of some irrational actions will help prevent an undesirable event.

Story

In ancient times, this disorder was often associated with mystical causes: in the Middle Ages, people obsessed with obsessive ideas were immediately sent to exorcists, and in the 17th century, the concept was reversed - it was believed that such conditions arise due to excessive religious zeal.

In 1877, one of the founders of scientific psychiatry, Wilhelm Griesinger and his student Karl-Friedrich-Otto Westphal, found that the basis of “obsessive-compulsive disorder” is a disorder of thinking, but it does not affect other aspects of behavior. They used the German term Zwangsvorstellung, which, having been variously translated in Britain and the US (as obsession and compulsion respectively), became the modern name for the disease. And in 1905, the French psychiatrist and neurologist Pierre Marie Felix Janet isolated this neurosis from neurasthenia as a separate disease and called it psychasthenia.

Opinions varied about the cause of the disorder - for example, Freud believed that obsessive-compulsive behavior related to unconscious conflicts that manifest themselves as symptoms, while his German colleague Emil Kraepelin classified it as “constitutional.” mental illness" caused by physical reasons.

People who suffered from obsessive disorder included: famous people- for example, the inventor Nikola Tesla counted steps while walking and the volume of food portions - if he failed to do this, the lunch was considered spoiled. And entrepreneur and American aviation pioneer Howard Hughes was terrified of dust and ordered employees before visiting him to “wash themselves four times, each time using a large amount of foam from a new bar of soap.”

Defense mechanism

The exact causes of OCD are not clear even now, but all hypotheses can be divided into three categories: physiological, psychological and genetic. Proponents of the first concept associate the disease either with the functional and anatomical features of the brain, or with metabolic disorders (biologically active substances, transmitting electrical impulses between neurons, or from neurons to muscle tissue) - primarily serotonin and dopamine, as well as norepinephrine and GABA. Some researchers have noted that many patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder had birth trauma at birth, which also confirms physiological reasons OCD.

Proponents of psychological theories believe that the disease is associated with personal characteristics, character, psychological trauma and an incorrect reaction to the negative influence of the environment. Sigmund Freud suggested that the occurrence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms is associated with the protective mechanisms of the psyche: isolation, elimination and reactive formation. Isolation protects a person from anxiety-causing affects and impulses, displacing them into the subconscious; elimination is aimed at combating the emerging repressed impulses - in fact, the compulsive act is based on it. And finally, reactive formation is the manifestation of patterns of behavior and consciously experienced attitudes that are opposite to emerging impulses.

There is also scientific evidence that genetic mutations contribute to OCD. They were found in unrelated families whose members suffered from OCD - in the serotonin transporter gene, hSERT. Studies of identical twins also confirm the existence of a hereditary factor. In addition, people with OCD are more likely to have close relatives with the same disorder than healthy people.

Maksim, 21 years old, suffers from OCD since childhood

It started for me at about 7-8 years old. The neurologist was the first to report the possibility of OCD; even then there was a suspicion of obsessive neurosis. I was constantly silent, spinning various theories in my head like “mental gum.” When I saw something that caused me anxiety, obsessive thoughts about it began, although the reasons seemed to be quite insignificant and, perhaps, would never have affected me.

At one time there was intrusive thought that my mother might die. I replayed the same moment in my head, and it captured me so much that I could not sleep at night. And when I’m riding in a minibus or in a car, I constantly think that we’re going to get into an accident, that someone is going to crash into us, or that we’re going to fly off a bridge. A couple of times the thought arose that the balcony under me would fall apart, or that someone would throw me out of there, or that I myself would slip and fall in the winter.

We never really talked to the doctor, I just took different medications. Now I move from one obsession to another and follow some rituals. I am constantly touching something, no matter where I am. I walk from corner to corner throughout the room, straightening the curtains and wallpaper. Maybe I'm different from other people with this disorder, everyone has their own rituals. But it seems to me that those people who accept themselves as they are are luckier. They are much better off than those who want to get rid of it and are very worried about it.

Perseveration (from lat. perseveratio - perseverance)- obsessive repetition of the same movements, images, thoughts. There are motor, sensory and intellectual P.

Motor Perseveration- occur when the anterior parts of the cerebral hemispheres are damaged and manifest themselves either in repeated repetition of individual elements of movement (for example, when writing letters or when drawing); this form of P. occurs when the premotor parts of the cerebral cortex and underlying subcortical structures are damaged and is called “elementary” motor P. (according to the classification of A.R. Luria, 1962); or in repeated repetition of entire movements programs (for example, in repetition of movements necessary for drawing, instead of writing movements); This form of P. is observed when the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex are damaged and is called “systemic” motor P. A special form of motor P. is made up of motor speech P., which arise as one of the manifestations of efferent motor aphasia in the form of multiple repetitions of the same syllable, words in speech and writing. This form of motor P. occurs when the lower parts of the premotor region of the cortex of the left hemisphere are damaged (in right-handed people).

Sensory Perseverations arise when the cortical parts of the analyzers are damaged and manifest themselves in the form of obsessive repetition of sound, tactile or visual images, an increase in the duration of the aftereffect of the corresponding stimuli.

Intellectual Perseveration arise when the cortex of the frontal lobes of the brain (usually the left hemisphere) is damaged and manifests itself in the form of repetition of inadequate stereotypical intellectual operations. Intellectual P., as a rule, appear when performing serial intellectual actions, for example. in arithmetic counting (subtract 7 from 100 until there is nothing left, etc.), when performing a series of tasks on analogies, classification of objects, etc., and reflect violations of control over intellectual activity, its programming, characteristic of “ frontal" patients. Intellectual P. are also characteristic of mentally retarded children as a manifestation of the inertia of nervous processes in the intellectual sphere. See also about perseverative images in the article Representations of Memory. (E.D. Chomskaya)

Great encyclopedia of psychiatry. Zhmurov V.A.

Perseveration (Latin persevero – to persist, to continue)

  • C Neisser's (1884) term refers to “the persistent repetition or continuation of an activity once begun, such as the repetition of a word in writing or speech in an inadequate context.” Usually, what is more often meant is perseveration of thinking, when the patient, in response to subsequent questions, repeats the answer to the last of the previous ones. Thus, having answered the question about his last name, the patient continues to give his last name in response to other, new questions.

There are also

  1. motor perseverations,
  2. sensory perseverations and
  3. emotional perseverations.
  • spontaneous and multiple repetitions of what has already been said and done are more often designated by the term iteration, and perceived or experienced by the term echonesia;
  • the tendency to continue to follow a certain pattern of behavior, with the implication that this tendency continues until it is recognized by the individual as inadequate.

Dictionary of psychiatric terms. V.M. Bleikher, I.V. Crook

Perseveration (Latin persevezo - to persist, to continue)- a tendency to get stuck in speech, thinking, “sustained repetition or continuation of an activity once started, for example, repetition of a word in written or oral speech in an inadequate context.” In addition to perseveration in thinking, motor, sensory and emotional perseverations are also distinguished.

Neurology. Complete explanatory dictionary. Nikiforov A.S.

Perseverations (from Latin persevero, perseveratum - to continue, to hold on stubbornly)- pathological repetition of words or actions. Characteristic of damage to the premotor zones of the cerebral hemispheres.

Motor perseverations- violations of motor skills due to the inertia of stereotypes and the resulting difficulties in switching from one action to another, which arise when the premotor zone of the cerebral cortex is damaged. P.d. are especially distinct. in the hand contralateral to the pathological focus, but with damage to the left premotor zone they can appear in both hands.

Visual perseverations- cm . Palinopsia .

Perseverations of thinking- disordered thinking, in which certain ideas and thoughts are repeated repeatedly. In this case, difficulties arise in switching from one thought to another.

Speech perseverations- manifestation of efferent motor aphasia in the form of repetitions in speech of individual phonemes, syllables, words, short phrases. It is typical for damage to the premotor zone of the frontal lobe of the dominant hemisphere of the brain.

Oxford Dictionary of Psychology

Perseveration- there are several common methods of use; they all contain the idea of ​​a tendency to persist, to persist.

  1. The tendency to continue following a particular pattern of behavior. Often used with the connotation that such perseveration continues until it becomes inadequate. Wed. with stereotypy.
  2. The tendency to repeat, with pathological persistence, a word or phrase.
  3. The tendency of certain memories, or ideas, or behavioral acts to be repeated without any (overt) stimulus for it. This term invariably carries a negative connotation. Wed. here with persistence.

subject area of ​​the term

MOTOR PERSEVERATION- unreasonable repeated repetition of the same movement, motor action contrary to intention

MOTOR PERSEVERATION- obsessive reproduction of the same movements or their elements (for example, writing letters or drawing). They differ:

  1. elementary motor perseveration - manifested in repeated repetition of individual elements of movement and arising when the premotor parts of the cerebral cortex are damaged ( brain: cortex) and underlying subcortical structures;
  2. motor systemic perseveration - manifested in repeated repetition of entire movement programs and occurs when the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex are damaged;
  3. motor speech perseveration - manifested in repeated repetition of the same syllable or word (in oral speech and writing), arising as one of the manifestations of efferent motor aphasia with damage to the lower parts of the premotor region of the cortex of the left hemisphere (in right-handed people).

SENSORY PERSEVERATION- obsessive reproduction of the same sound, tactile or visual images, which occurs when the cortical parts of the analyzing systems of the brain are damaged.

RETROSPECTIVE Falsification- unconscious modification and distortion of previous experience in order to make it correspond to present needs. Cm . Confabulation, which may or may not contain connotations of unconsciousness.