Psychotic Speech: A Neurolinguistic Perspective

Abstract

The existence of an aphasia-like language disorder in psychotic speech has been the subject of much debate. This paper argues that a discrete language disorder could be an important cause of the disturbance seen in psychotic speech. A review is presented of classical clinical descriptions and experimental studies that have explored the similarities between psychotic language impairment and aphasic speech. The paper proposes neurolinguistic tasks which may be used in future studies to elicit subtle language impairments in psychotic speech. The usefulness of a neurolinguistic model for further research in the aetiology and treatment of psychosis is discussed.

Formal thought disorder in schizophrenia: an executive or a semantic deficit?

“…A role for executive impairment in FTD has been suggested many times (Harrow & Prosen, 1978;Liddle, 1987 ;Frith, 1992;Anand & Wales, 1994;Chaika, 1995;Barch & Berenbaum, 1996 ;Docherty et al 1996 ;Maher, 1996 ;Crider, 1997;Harvey & Sharma, 2002), but the most detailed proposal is that of McGrath (1991). He argues that disturbances in different aspects of executive function could give rise to a number of the different elements recognized in FTD.…”

Neuropsychological dimensions related to alterations of verbal self-monitoring neural networks in schizophrenic language: systematic review

“…Language in schizophrenia, commonly known as disorganized speech or Positive Thought Disorder (PTD) ( 6 ), possesses distinct characteristics that differentiate it from other language disorders. Due to the similarities between the two, schizophrenic language has traditionally been associated with and explained through aphasic language ( 7 ), particularly due to the presence of neo logistic jargon with alliterations and assonances in both cases ( 8 ), as well as semantic aphasia, given the presence of agrammatism in both cases ( 9 ). The limitations of studying schizophrenic language from an aphasiological perspective have been highlighted by Barr et al.…”