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 when 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 return to a topic of conversation that has long been stopped talking about or the issue in it has been resolved.
- Motor type of perseveration. Such a manifestation as motor perseverations is directly related to physical impairment 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 cortex human brain 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 is it related to physical types 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 and psychologists call perseveration deviations psychological type, which 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 has signs of the formation of perseveration, but at the same time he did not tolerate severe forms stress or traumatic brain injury, this may indicate the development of both psychological and mental forms deviations.
If we talk about psychopathological and psychological reasons development of perseveration, then 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 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 from one physical exercise, movements move to others.
- 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. The basis this method The impact is made by putting 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 for various reasons. When perseveration occurs, it is important to choose a competent treatment strategy. Drug effects in in this case does not apply.
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.
anonymous, Male, 5 years old
Hello! My child, at about 4.5 years old, began repeating the endings of words (last syllables) several times during a conversation. for example: “the girl is getting ready” or “potato”, his “name”. Now he is 5.5 and the situation has not changed. Sometimes this doesn’t happen, I can’t trace the pattern (it’s not associated with anxiety or fatigue, it’s just that this phenomenon is observed more often, and sometimes not). The opinions of speech therapists were divided. One said that this is a form of stuttering, but it does not work with such a problem, the other said that this is not stuttering, but perservation, that is, it is associated with thinking, but also does not know how to help the child. In general, he speaks well, there are slight defects in sound pronunciation ("r" sometimes speaks in his throat, sometimes with his tongue, sometimes he confuses "sh, zh" and "s, z", he does not always clearly pronounce "l" and there are agrammatisms). I have a question. due to this. Are such repetitions stuttering or persistence, and how can you help your child?
Hello. It’s a little difficult for me to answer you, because I don’t work directly with iterations (preservation). Then, again, like most mothers. You don't report anything about your medical history. Let's try to figure it out, but I warn you right away, this is just an attempt, since there is no way to see the child, nor is there any information about the development. It’s also unclear, but have you been? I understood with speech therapists, but here I need a consultation with a psychologist and a neurologist. You can’t do without a full-fledged PMPK. Now a little about sound pronunciation. The throat sound R, if it doesn’t bother you, then fine... The main thing is that the child hears it, identifies it, and relates it to the letter. Why aren't the other sounds automated? I understand that there are violations of word formation and syllable structure? Why? neurology? Then are we already talking about ZPRR? but at the same time, thinking, memory, attention, and perception really suffer. . Uneven development the child’s thinking and speech capabilities. Speech hesitations here are the result of age-related insufficiency in coordinating thinking and speech or age-related imperfections in the child’s speech apparatus, his vocabulary, expressive means(physiological hesitation). Delays in psychophysical development can occur as a result of previous illnesses, injuries, or unfavorable heredity. There is no information from you about this. Physiological iterations are the repetition by children of certain sounds or syllables, which is caused by age-related imperfections in the activity of the auditory and speech motor analyzers. This imperfection usually manifests itself during the development of speech, and scientists believe that iterations can manifest themselves not only in preschool age, but also much earlier - during the period of the child’s first words, and sometimes even earlier - during the period of “crying”. In the literature you can find another name for physiological iterations - perseveration, which literally translates as “stuckness”. The reason for perseverations lies in the peculiarities of consolidating words, concepts and phenomena in memory. The fact is that in preschool age, the auditory and kinesthetic images of a number of words are not clear enough, so the child can simply reproduce them by mistake, correct himself, repeat a more accurate version, and therefore rearrange or repeat sounds, syllables, etc. Experts attribute such inaccuracies and repetitions to age-related disorders tempo-rhythmic side oral speech, when iterations are the most characteristic and striking shortcomings during the formation of the phrase, that is, after two years. When a child grows, his perception is not limited to the minimum: there are so many interesting and new things around, the names of which the child simply does not yet know, but really wants to know, and therefore all the words spoken by adults are correlated with the objects denoted by these words and are assimilated (remembered). precisely in sound and object correlation). But the speech apparatus is not yet fully formed, and therefore thinking simply outstrips the speech capabilities of the talker, because of this, these very physiological hesitations and repetitions occur, as if correcting itself. In addition, speech breathing is also imperfect (it has not yet been formalized), and the ability to pronounce long phrases is psychologically difficult due to the fact that the motor implementation of speech lags behind the mental side of speech activity. Conclusion? I don’t know the medical history, there is no neurologist’s report, so each speech therapist is right in his own way, and they have more information about your child than I do. The advice I can give is advisory in nature, but if you follow it strictly, then, I hope, it will help. 1. Do not show concern caused by the appearance of convulsive stuttering in a child; Do not discuss the problem that has arisen in front of your child. 2. Normalize the child’s sleep and diet: prolonged sleep is desirable. “Ritualize” your child’s daily routine during this period as much as possible. 3. If the environment contributed to the appearance of hesitations, then try to change it to a calmer one. 4. Do not interrupt or stop the child if he starts talking. 5. Watch your speech: speak smoothly, taking pauses. Do not yell at your child during this period under any circumstances! 6. Make a list of situations, environments, people around you that increase or provoke hesitation in your child. Try to avoid what is on your list. 7. In case of acute onset of stuttering, completely eliminate watching TV (including other family members should not watch it in front of the child) and computer games. 8. Withdrawal nervous tension Playing with water and sand (in winter - with snow) is encouraged. 9. Try not to make critical comments (as much as possible) or ask questions of the child during this period. 10. Strive not to be separated from your child for a long time and spend as much time with him as possible. 11. For some time, you should also avoid somatic overload: do not attend sports sections for some time. 12. Coordinated uniform educational influences in the family are especially important. 13. Children should not be “trained” to be brave. Do not provoke the consolidation and strengthening of fears in the child. 14. A child should not be punished for errors in speech, imitated or corrected irritably. 15. You should rid the child of the fears that have arisen in him, and not allow the child to fixate on them: for example, in the form of some stains, you can depict what scared the child on the tiles in the bathroom, so that the child can then wash off this image with a stream of shower. 16. Harmonization of the child’s condition by using paints of different colors. Drawing on wet paper, using light tones of paint, and blurring the image soften the child’s condition. Yellow invigorates, activates the mental sphere, blue calms emotions. Black, gray, and brown colors should not be used in joint drawing. 17. To overcome excessive timidity, it is useful to draw on large sheets of paper with a wide brush, use thick paint, and draw with your hands. 18. To prevent stuttering, it is useful to stimulate a child’s positive attitude towards events occurring at home; for this purpose, parents can be recommended to jointly draw situations that are pleasant for the child. home life(birthday, walk together, grandma frying pancakes). 19. To organize the rhythm of the day, as well as overcome possible attention deficits, it is useful to use “visual organization of the day” in the form of a child’s activity schedule. 20. It is useful to learn children's songs with children and sing with the child. 21. It is advisable to avoid verbal contact with the child (silence mode), replacing it with non-verbal (at least for two weeks). To communicate with your child, actively use pictures, pictograms, and symbolic objects. However, if a child begins to speak, then one cannot forbid him, one should only strive to transform his monologue form of speech into a dialogic one. 22. If a child resists fulfilling any of your demands, you should switch his attention to another activity. 23. In case of acute onset of stuttering, any emotionally significant situations for the child should be avoided: for example, a trip to the grandmother, whom the child has not seen for a long time; PMPK; first trip to kindergarten. 24. Do not require the child to pronounce “difficult” words, sentences that are long and complex in their grammatical structure; In case of acute onset of stuttering, do not conduct classes to correct sound pronunciation. 25. Stuttering is most likely when pronouncing low-frequency words, so you should limit the child from perceiving such words during the acute onset of stuttering, so that he does not have the desire to “ask again.” 26. Carry out daily breathing exercises: for the development of physiological and phonation breathing. The main task: increasing the volume of inhalation and the duration of exhalation. 27. It is useful to read and memorize short, simple poems that are age-appropriate for children. 28. The choice of books to read to children should be limited and strictly age appropriate. Don't strive for quantity. It is better to read one fairy tale to your child during the week, but in different books. 29. Practice motor games with rhythmic movements every day. 30. When entering school, some children may experience a relapse of stuttering. Parents should alert teachers at school about the problem. You should not ask the child first, insist on an answer if the child is silent, or demand detailed oral answers from him. At first, it is recommended to challenge the little schoolchild to give answers in front of the class only by reading poetry. 31. To prevent relapses of stuttering: when the child weakens after somatic or infectious diseases It is necessary to carry out a gentle general and speech regimen.
anonymously
Hello! Thank you for such a detailed answer. I'm updating the information. The child works with a speech therapist in kindergarten after completing the PMPK. Conclusion PMPK - ONR level 3. Classes with a speech therapist (due to unsteady sounds) and a teacher-psychologist (due to signs of hyperactivity and attention deficit) are recommended. The neurologist writes an REP with signs of motor disinhibition. EEG conclusion: Displacement M-echo D-S = 0.25 mm (between d and s arrow towards s, I just don’t know where this icon is on the computer) Indirect signs intracranial hypertension. I was sent to the commission due to problems with sounds, which I wrote above. BUT perservations appeared later. In general, the child has a good memory for his age (both visual and auditory), is inquisitive, and knows enough for his age. WITH fine motor skills worse (he is the only one in the group who knows how to tie shoelaces, but drawing anything (even a very simple one) with a pencil, for example, or with paints is very difficult). Moreover, when he expresses his thoughts, it is sometimes difficult to understand him (not by sounds, but by semantic content). He completed the intelligence tests (which were offered to him at the PMPC) with ease; he only had to constantly draw attention to the task, since he was very distracted. Situations of repetition of the last syllables in a word are not associated with excitement and not with new or difficult words. The only regularity is that over time this has become more frequent. If at the very beginning (six months ago) you could hear it 4-5 times a day, now it’s much more common - in every sentence, almost every word. When all this first appeared, I followed the path that you indicated - not to focus attention, reduce the load on the child, optimize the regime, use games to relieve tension, breathing. He knows a lot of poems, memorizes them quickly (I just read to him every day what he asks for, and then he remembers it 2-4 times later). There are no repetitions of syllables in the poems. But if he wants to tell me some story himself or his favorite fairy tale, then very much so. They have morning performances in the kindergarten. When they are preparing for matinees, during this period he tells us in roles at home what each child says and what he does. At the matinee he speaks the words assigned to him calmly, with expression (and without repeating syllables). It turns out that repetitions of the last syllables appear in ordinary everyday spontaneous speech. When I first asked a speech therapist about this, she replied that it was similar to stuttering, but she didn’t work with it. And the second speech therapist, who had experienced stuttering, said that it was not stuttering, so she could not help. This is a perservation and the question is not for the speech therapist.
Hello. I began to wonder what was happening. I repeat, I don’t work with stuttering; we don’t have kids like that at school. What I read and tried to understand. this is very similar to perservation. And a speech therapist can only indirectly help here. I found an article, take a look, maybe it will be useful? In general, we need an experienced neurologist who knows this problem. I know such people only at IKP RAO, but for sure there are others in other places! 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 of the 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. Manifestations of perseveration Main stages psychological assistance during 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 symptoms of deviation to disappearance. 2.Preventive 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 professional 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 the etiological factor of the disorder is lack of attention. Without getting the desired effect, the patient simply does not see the point in his actions.
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. Characteristic feature is the reproduction of a certain physical action, phoneme, representation, phrase.
A typical example is a song that gets stuck on long time in my head. 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 psychological disorder, mental disorder or a neuropathological disorder of the individual's behavior 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 in that it is the result of associative activity and structural component. 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 Everyday life of this 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 earlier identification of possible mental disorders in children, one 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 is often caused by exposure to physical nature 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 is often accompanied by phobias when it turns on defense mechanism through the reproduction of operations of the same type, which give the individual a feeling of non-danger and calm.
If the presence is suspected, excessively scrupulous selectivity in committing 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 children compensates for the lack of external attention. With such behavior, the baby seeks to attract attention to his own actions or attention.
The phenomenon in question often appears among scientists. constantly studying something new, striving to learn something important, which is why he gets 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, expressed in following a certain idea, which forces the individual to constantly perform specific actions (), or in the persistence of some thought (). 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 than not, this is the correct response to the first statement. 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 (or). It can also be detected in traumatic and vascular disorders.
Motor perseveration is manifested by repeated repetition 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 lower segments 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. Of the pharmacopoeial drugs, weak ones are used 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 psychological assistance strategy, 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 etiological factor 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.
The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to substitute for professional advice and qualified advice. medical care. At the slightest suspicion of the presence of this disease Be sure to consult your doctor!
the involuntary, obsessively repetitive cyclical repetition or insistent repetition of some action, movement, idea, idea, thought, or experience—often contrary to conscious intention. The tendency of reproducible performances to make a comeback.
Perseverations are motor, emotional, sensory and intellectual - in the spheres of motor, emotional, sensory-perceptual and intellectual, respectively.
A tendency to perseveration is often observed in the clinic of local brain lesions, speech, motor and emotional disorders; Perseverations are also possible when attention is distracted or in states of acute fatigue (-> fatigue).
It is assumed that perseveration is based on processes of cyclic excitation of neural structures associated with a delay in the signal to terminate the action.
PERSEVERATION
lat. persevezo - to persist, to continue). Tendency to get stuck in speech, thinking, “persistent 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.
PERSEVERATION
from lat. perseveratio - persistence) - obsessive repetition of the same movements, images, thoughts. There are motor, sensory and intellectual P.
Motor P. arise when the anterior sections of the cerebral hemispheres are damaged and manifest themselves either in the 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 with damage to the prefrontal parts of the cerebral cortex and is called “systemic* motor P. Special shape motor P. are 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 or word in oral 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 P. 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, increasing the duration of the aftereffect of the corresponding stimuli.
Intellectual P. occurs when the cortex is damaged frontal lobes brain (usually the left hemisphere) and manifest themselves in the form of repetition of inadequate stereotypical intellectual operations. Intellectual P., as a rule, appear when performing serial intellectual actions, for example, during arithmetic calculation (subtract 7 from 100 until there is nothing left, etc.), when performing a series of tasks on analogies, classification of objects, etc. . 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 inertia nervous processes in the intellectual sphere. See also about perseverative images in the article Representations of Memory. (E. D. Chomskaya.)
PERSEVERATION
persistently repeated involuntary, annoying resumption in a person of any image, thought, action or mental state, often against his will. We can talk about the perseveration of memory, movement, and thinking. In its content, perseveration is close to obsessive mental states.
PERSEVERATION
perseveration) - 1. Constant repetition a person of any action that does not allow him to pay attention to the emergence of new situations and the possibility of taking other actions. Perseveration is a symptom of organic brain damage; sometimes it can indicate the development of obsessive neurosis in a person. 2. A condition in which a person clearly distinguishes the image of an object, despite its actual absence. This condition may indicate that a person has a serious psychological disorder.
Perseveration
Word formation. Comes from Lat. regseveratio - perseverance.
Specificity. Obsessive reproduction of the same movements, thoughts, ideas.
Motor perseverations,
Sensory perseverations,
Intellectual perseverations.
PERSEVERATION
There are several common methods of consumption; they all contain the idea of a tendency to persist, to persist. 1. The tendency to continue following a certain 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.
PERSEVERATION
Perseveration
1) (from the Latin perseveratio “persistence”) – the tendency to follow a certain model of behavior until it becomes inadequate.
The general was the kind of person who, although he was led by the nose... but then, if some thought got into his head, then it was there like an iron nail: there was nothing you could do to get it out of there (N. Gogol, The Dead souls).
If he didn’t get along with someone, then he didn’t get along for the rest of his life, not recognizing the need to adapt to anyone’s character (A. Druzhinin, Polinka Sax).
It is common for every person to make mistakes, but it is common for no one except a fool to persist in a mistake (Aristotle).
Wed. lability.
2) the tendency of certain memories, ideas or behavioral acts, obsessive images, states to be repeated without a clear incentive for this, their stereotypical repetition, in particular, with severe fatigue, in a drowsy state. Wed. the experiences of Boris Godunov, recalling the murder of Tsarevich Dimitri: And everything feels nauseous, and the head is spinning, and there are bloody boys in the eyes... (A. Pushkin, Boris Godunov). Wed. obsessive states.
