Preliminary study of higher‐order language and extralinguistic impairments in individuals with high clinical risk of psychosis and first episode of schizophrenia

Pawełczyk, Agnieszka; Kotlicka-Antczak, Magdalena; Łojek, Emilia; Pawełczyk, Tomasz

doi:10.1111/eip.12482

Cited by 9 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 95 publications

(153 reference statements)

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“…In sum, results about the relationship between the use of nonemotional prosody and vulnerability to psychosis (27,33,37) are inconclusive. Evidence for impairment in non-emotional prosody processing in first-episode schizophrenia, in ultra-high risk-or in first-degree relative groups was not found, but this last result (33) was not confirmed in larger samples of patients with first episode schizophrenia (27,37). Interestingly, the Right Hemisphere Language Battery was not originally conceived for patients with schizophrenia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies also enrolled patients with first episode schizophrenia (31,32). Contrary to these findings, Pawełczyk and colleagues (26,33,37) recently reported a significant difference between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls in the use of prosody to decode the communicative purpose of the speaker. They tested patients with schizophrenia, patients with first episode schizophrenia, participants at ultra-high risk of psychosis and first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia by means of the "Right Hemisphere Language Battery".…”

Section: Perception Of Non-emotional Prosody In Patients With Schizopmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Speech Prosody as a Bridge Between Psychopathology and Linguistics: The Case of the Schizophrenia Spectrum

et al. 2020

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Patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders experience severe difficulties in interpersonal communication, as described by traditional psychopathology and current research on social cognition. From a linguistic perspective, pragmatic abilities are crucial for successful communication. Empirical studies have shown that these abilities are significantly impaired in this group of patients. Prosody, the tone of voice with which words and sentences are pronounced, is one of the most important carriers of pragmatic meaning and can serve a range of functions from linguistic to emotional ones. Most of the existing literature on prosody of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders focuses on the expression of emotion, generally showing significant impairments. By contrast, the use of non-emotional prosody in these patients is scarcely investigated. In this paper, we first present a linguistic model to classify prosodic functions. Second, we discuss existing studies on the use of non-emotional prosody in these patients, providing an overview of the state of the art. Third, we delineate possible future lines of research in this field, also taking into account some classical psychopathological assumptions, for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Perception Of Non-emotional Prosody In Patients With Schizopmentioning

confidence: 99%

Speech Prosody as a Bridge Between Psychopathology and Linguistics: The Case of the Schizophrenia Spectrum

et al. 2020

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“…Previous studies have implied that higher level language functions such as metaphor processing and discourse comprehension are disturbed in people with schizophrenia (Kuperberg, 2010a; Kuperberg, 2010b; Pawelczyk et al, 2019; Pawełczyk et al, 2017). What is more, they have been found to be more likely to demonstrate impairments in processing indirect speech acts, to have a distorted sense of humour (Corcoran, Cahill, & Frith, 1997; Rosin & Cerbus, 1984) and display an inability to appreciate irony (Drury, Robinson, & Birchwood, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the speech of people with schizophrenia has been characterized with higher level (pragmatic) language disturbances (Andreasen, 1979; Bambini et al, 2016; Bryan, 2014; Kuperberg, 2010a; Kuperberg, 2010b; Pawelczyk, Kotlicka‐Antczak, Lojek, & Pawelczyk, 2019), very few studies have examined the wide range of these dysfunctions among those at ultrahigh risk (UHR) for psychosis (Done & Leinonen, 2013; Pawełczyk, Łojek, & Pawełczyk, 2017; Rosenstein, Foltz, DeLisi, & Elvevag, 2015) and even fewer analyze pragmatic language dysfunctions in relation to conversion to psychosis (Bedi et al, 2015; Done & Leinonen, 2013; Sullivan et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Higher order language impairments can predict the transition of ultrahigh risk state to psychosis—An empirical study

Pawełczyk

Łojek

Żurner

et al. 2020

Early Intervention Psych

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Aim Higher order language skills, for example, non‐literal language, humour, prosody deal with ‘what is meant’ and they are necessary for communicative exchange and relationships; No study has investigated their link with conversion to psychosis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether such skills could act as predictors of the onset of psychosis, and compare those of individuals converting and non‐converting to psychosis with control of cognitive functions. Methods Seventy‐three patients, aged 15 to 32 years, fulfilling ultrahigh risk criteria took part: 14% of whom were receiving antipsychotic drugs. The study was observational, prospective and longitudinal in nature, and scheduled for 60 months. Pragmatic language skills were evaluated using the Polish version of the right hemisphere language battery. The ultrahigh risk (UHR) criteria were evaluated with Comprehensive Assessment of At‐Risk Mental States; attention, intelligence and verbal fluency were controlled. Results The conversion rate was 25%; converters demonstrated impaired humour comprehension and metaphor explanation abilities; composite score of pragmatic language was associated with a hazard ratio of 6.0 (95% CI 1.8‐20.5) and AUC of .73. Verbal fluency was an independent predictor of conversion, but attention and intelligence were not; pragmatic language skills were associated with social function but not with prodromal symptoms. Conclusions The results suggest that deficits in humour comprehension and metaphor explanation could predict conversion to psychosis. These findings could improve diagnosis and create implications for speech and language therapy in UHR groups. Further studies on the mechanisms of pragmatic skills should analyze their relationship with abstract measures and semantic coherence.

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“…Although there is the body of evidence suggesting that language dysfunctions play a role in schizophrenia (Kuperberg 2010a(Kuperberg , 2010bBryan 2014;Pienkos and Sass 2017;Zimmerer et al 2017), only a few studies have examined the wide range of higher-order language (pragmatic) processing in this disease (Bosco and Parola 2017;Bambini et al 2016;Colle et al 2013;Pawelczyk et al 2017;Pawelczyk et al 2018b;Pawelczyk et al 2018a). These pragmatic aspects of language refer to various process and features of speech: lexicalsemantic processes, understanding and production of vocal non-verbal speech components (prosody), the comprehension of indirect speech acts, non-literal language (idioms, metaphors, irony), discourse comprehension and production, as well as the appreciation of shared knowledge and reflection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The correlation between white matter integrity and pragmatic language processing in first episode schizophrenia

Pawełczyk

Łojek

Żurner

et al. 2020

Brain Imaging and Behavior

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Objective: Higher-order language disturbances could be the result of white matter tract abnormalities. The study explores the relationship between white matter and pragmatic skills in first-episode schizophrenia. Methods: Thirty-four first-episode patients with schizophrenia and 32 healthy subjects participated in a pragmatic language and Diffusion Tensor Imaging study, where fractional anisotropy of the arcuate fasciculus, corpus callosum and cingulum was correlated with the Polish version of the Right Hemisphere Language Battery. Results: The patients showed reduced fractional anisotropy in the right arcuate fasciculus, left anterior cingulum bundle and left forceps minor. Among the first episode patients, reduced understanding of written metaphors correlated with reduced fractional anisotropy of left forceps minor, and greater explanation of written and picture metaphors correlated with reduced fractional anisotropy of the left anterior cingulum. Conclusions: The white matter dysfunctions may underlie the pragmatic language impairment in schizophrenia. Our results shed further light on the functional neuroanatomical basis of pragmatic language use by patients with schizophrenia.

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Preliminary study of higher‐order language and extralinguistic impairments in individuals with high clinical risk of psychosis and first episode of schizophrenia

Abstract: The higher-order language dysfunctions mediated by the right hemisphere appear to be present in subjects at UHR of schizophrenia and those experiencing their FE. The results may play a crucial role in diagnostic processes.

Cited by 9 publications

References 95 publications

Speech Prosody as a Bridge Between Psychopathology and Linguistics: The Case of the Schizophrenia Spectrum

Speech Prosody as a Bridge Between Psychopathology and Linguistics: The Case of the Schizophrenia Spectrum

Higher order language impairments can predict the transition of ultrahigh risk state to psychosis—An empirical study

The correlation between white matter integrity and pragmatic language processing in first episode schizophrenia

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