Methodological evolution and clinical application of C.G. Jung's Word Association Experiment: a follow-up study.

We became interested in the clinical application of the Word Association Experiment (AE) when we decided to use Jung's theory of complexes in the psycho-diagnostic evaluation and treatment of patients applying to our Psychotherapy Out-patients Unit (Psychiatric Clinic, Milan University). In psychopathological situations, complexes with a particularly high emotional charge become autonomous and disturbing, inhibiting the ego's functions. The representations and affective states corresponding to these complexes become dominant, conditioning the expression of symptoms and the subject's relational modes.

Lymphocyte subsets in schizophrenic disorders. Relationship with clinical, neuromorphological and treatment variables.

Peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets and serum immunoglobulin levels were assessed in 42 patients and 37 healthy controls. 24 patients were free from neuroleptic medication and 15 had never been treated with neuroleptics. 31 patients had a diagnosis of schizophrenia (DSM-III criteria) and 11 a diagnosis of a disorder of the schizophrenic spectrum.

An international perspective on assessment of negative and positive symptoms in schizophrenia.

The authors used the Scale for Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the Scale for Assessment of Positive Symptoms in interviews of 96 psychiatric inpatients in Italy. They evaluated the interrater reliability and the internal consistency of these scales for the assessment of negative and positive symptoms in schizophrenia. Their findings indicate that the results of these scales are similar in Italy and the United States, countries with different languages and cultures.