International journal of language & communication disorders
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Int J Lang Commun Disord · May 2013
Disordered semantic activation in disorganized discourse in schizophrenia: a new pragma-linguistic tool for structure and meaning reconstruction.
Disorganized speech, manifested as derailment, tangentiality, incoherence and loss of goal, occurs commonly in schizophrenia. Studies of language processing have demonstrated that semantic activation in schizophrenia is often disordered and, moreover, the ability to use contextual cues is impaired. ⋯ Latent sources, motivations and even meanings, at least to some extent, of seemingly disorganized utterances can become analysable through linguistic analyses. The results suggest that continuity in the treatment is essential, because a practitioner who shares background knowledge with the patient has better opportunities to capture the relevance of the superficially disorganized utterances. Moreover, especially the most disorganized sequences should warrant thorough attention because they can convey, beneath their unexpected or obscure surface structure, items which are psychologically important to the patient. The results of this study should be taken into account in the training of interactional skills of professionals who work with schizophrenia patients.