Patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) exhibit an aberrant perception and comprehension of abstract speech-gesture combinations associated with dysfunctional activation of the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Recently, a significant deficit of speech-gesture mismatch detection was identified in SSD, but the underlying neural mechanisms have not yet been examined. A novel mismatch-detection fMRI paradigm was implemented manipulating speech-gesture abstractness (abstract/concrete) and relatedness (related/unrelated). During fMRI data acquisition, 42 SSD patients (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or other non-organic psychotic disorder [ICD-10: F20, F25, F28; DSM-IV: 295.X]) and 36 healthy controls were presented with short video clips of an actor reciting abstract or concrete sentences accompanied by either a semantically related or unrelated gesture. Participants indicated via button press whether they perceived each gesture as matching the speech content or not. Speech-gesture mismatch detection performance was significantly impaired in patients compared to controls. fMRI data analysis revealed that patients showed lower activation in bilateral frontal areas, including the IFG for all abstract > concrete speech-gesture pairs. In addition, they exhibited reduced engagement of the right supplementary motor area (SMA) and bilateral anterior cingulate cortices (ACC) for unrelated > related stimuli. We provide first evidence that impaired speech-gesture mismatch detection in SSD could be the result of dysfunctional activation of the SMA and ACC. Failure to activate the left IFG disrupts the integration of abstract speech-gesture combinations in particular. Future investigations should focus on brain stimulation of the SMA, ACC, and the IFG to improve communication and social functioning in SSD.

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Introduction: Dysfunctional social communication is one of the most stable characteristics in patients with schizophrenia that severely affects quality of life. Interpreting abstract speech and integrating nonverbal information is particularly affected which has been associated with neural dysfunctions in temporal lobe regions.Objectives: Considering the difficulty to treat communication dysfunctions with usual intervention, we investigated the possibility to improve quality of life and co-verbal gesture processing in patients with schizophrenia by applying a multimodal speech-gesture training (MSG training).Methods: In the MSG training, we offered eight sessions (60 min each) of training including perceptive and expressive tasks as well as meta-learning elements and transfer exercises to 29 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). Patients were randomized to a waiting-first group (N=20) or a training-first group (N=9), and were compared to healthy controls (N=17). Outcomes were quality of life and related changes in the neural processing of abstract speech-gesture information, which were measured pre-post training through standardized psychological questionnaires and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, respectively.Results: Pre-training, patients showed reduced quality of life as compared to controls but improved significantly during the training. Strikingly, this improvement was correlated with neural activation changes in the middle temporal gyrus for the processing of abstract multimodal content. Conclusion: With this study, we provide first promising results of a novel multimodal speech-gesture training for patients with schizophrenia. We could link training induced changes in speech-gesture processing to changes in quality of life, demonstrating the relevance of intact communication skills and gesture processing for well-being.

Introduction: Dysfunctional social communication is one of the most stable characteristics in patients with schizophrenia that severely affects quality of life. Interpreting abstract speech and integrating nonverbal information is particularly affected which has been associated with neural dysfunctions in temporal lobe regions. Objectives: Considering the difficulty to treat communication dysfunctions with usual intervention, we investigated the possibility to improve quality of life and co-verbal gesture processing in patients with schizophrenia by applying a multimodal speech-gesture training (MSG training).Methods: In the MSG training, we offered eight sessions (60 min each) of training including perceptive and expressive tasks as well as meta-learning elements and transfer exercises to 29 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD). Patients were randomized to a waiting-first group (N=20) or a training-first group (N=9), and were compared to healthy controls (N=17). Outcomes were quality of life and related changes in the neural processing of abstract speech-gesture information, which were measured pre-post training through standardized psychological questionnaires and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, respectively.Results: Pre-training, patients showed reduced quality of life as compared to controls but improved significantly during the training. Strikingly, this improvement was correlated with neural activation changes in the middle temporal gyrus for the processing of abstract multimodal content. Conclusion: With this study, we provide first promising results of a novel multimodal speech-gesture training for patients with schizophrenia. We could link training induced changes in speech-gesture processing to changes in quality of life, demonstrating the relevance of intact communication skills and gesture processing for well-being.