Summary: Češková E.: Neurological Soft Signs in Schizophrenia Problems of soft signs in schizophrenia are summarized, special attention is devoted to neurological soft signs (NSS) in the fi rst-episode schizophrenia. Out of many possibilities how to measure NSS, Neurological Evaluation Scale is most commonly used in psychiatric population. NSS are signifi cantly more frequent in patients with schizophrenia than in normal population. The range of NSS frequency is broad and related to the methods used and criteria of evaluation. NSS are present in the initial phase of illness. They are not signifi cantly associated with administration of antipsychotics, but antipsychotics can partially infl uence its prevalence. The occurrence of NSS most frequently correlates with cognitive dysfunction and negative symptoms. Patients with NSS have a worse prognosis. The evaluation of NSS in the initial phase of illness can contribute to the identifi cation of subjects with bad prognosis, who, can profi t from early intervention and targeted pharmacotherapy (for example with some atypical antipsychotic drugs). The evaluation should be uniform and bilateral. In the future it will be necessary to integrate the knowledge about NSS with date from brain imaging studies and elucidate the role of NSS as a potential marker of cognitive dysfunction.

        Key words: neurological soft signs, schizophrenia, fi rst-episode schizophrenia, symptoms, outcome, cognitive dysfunction.