Is Schizophrenia a Language Disorder? A Critical Analysis.

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder, the cause of which is still under discussion Because of a range of linguistic correlates present within schizophrenia, this thesis has been focussed on the question whether schizophrenia is a language disorder. Recent research has suggested that specific impairments to the language system might be the cause of schizophrenia and its positive symptoms. Formal thought disorder is caused by a lack of self-monitoring of one’s own speech production, delusions by wrongly embedding arguments under their relevant predicates and wrong use of reference, and hallucinations by wrongly referencing one’s own thoughts to an external source, creating a false perception of speech. False comprehension and use of reference is a valid theory on the cause of these symptoms. The language impairments are most likely caused by irregularities in the dopaminergic neurotransmission, thereby also causing other symptoms that are not related to language. The fact that more areas of the brain are affected by the same phenomenon that causes the linguistic disruptions and the positive symptoms means that it cannot only be a language disorder.