Grammatical impairment in schizophrenia: An exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains.
Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe mental disorder associated with a variety of linguistic deficits, and recently it has been suggested that these deficits are caused by an underlying impairment in the ability to build complex syntactic structures and complex semantic relations. Aiming at contributing t...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291446 |
| _version_ | 1797679355975958528 |
|---|---|
| author | Monica F Chaves Cilene Rodrigues Sidarta Ribeiro Natália B Mota Mauro Copelli |
| author_facet | Monica F Chaves Cilene Rodrigues Sidarta Ribeiro Natália B Mota Mauro Copelli |
| author_sort | Monica F Chaves |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Schizophrenia (SZ) is a severe mental disorder associated with a variety of linguistic deficits, and recently it has been suggested that these deficits are caused by an underlying impairment in the ability to build complex syntactic structures and complex semantic relations. Aiming at contributing to determining the specific linguistic profile of SZ, we investigated the usage of pronominal subjects and sentence types in two corpora of oral dream and waking reports produced by speakers with SZ and participants without SZ (NSZ), both native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. Narratives of 40 adult participants (20 SZ, and 20 NSZ-sample 1), and narratives of 31 teenage participants (11 SZ undergoing first psychotic episode, and 20 NSZ-sample 2) were annotated and statistically analyzed. Overall, narratives of speakers with SZ presented significantly higher rates of matrix sentences, null pronouns-particularly null 3Person referential pronouns-and lower rates of non-anomalous truncated sentences. The high rate of matrix sentences correlated significantly with the total PANSS scores, suggesting an association between the overuse of simple sentences and SZ symptoms in general. In contrast, the high rate of null pronouns correlated significantly with positive PANSS scores, suggesting an association between the overuse of null pronominal forms and the positive symptoms of SZ. Finally, a cross-group analysis between samples 1 and 2 indicated a higher degree of grammatical impairment in speakers with multiple psychotic episodes. Altogether, the results strengthen the notion that deficits at the pronominal and sentential levels constitute a cross-cultural linguistic marker of SZ. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:13:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5b63a30b583a43f0963f69a1341c702e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T23:13:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-5b63a30b583a43f0963f69a1341c702e2023-09-21T05:32:41ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01189e029144610.1371/journal.pone.0291446Grammatical impairment in schizophrenia: An exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains.Monica F ChavesCilene RodriguesSidarta RibeiroNatália B MotaMauro CopelliSchizophrenia (SZ) is a severe mental disorder associated with a variety of linguistic deficits, and recently it has been suggested that these deficits are caused by an underlying impairment in the ability to build complex syntactic structures and complex semantic relations. Aiming at contributing to determining the specific linguistic profile of SZ, we investigated the usage of pronominal subjects and sentence types in two corpora of oral dream and waking reports produced by speakers with SZ and participants without SZ (NSZ), both native speakers of Brazilian Portuguese. Narratives of 40 adult participants (20 SZ, and 20 NSZ-sample 1), and narratives of 31 teenage participants (11 SZ undergoing first psychotic episode, and 20 NSZ-sample 2) were annotated and statistically analyzed. Overall, narratives of speakers with SZ presented significantly higher rates of matrix sentences, null pronouns-particularly null 3Person referential pronouns-and lower rates of non-anomalous truncated sentences. The high rate of matrix sentences correlated significantly with the total PANSS scores, suggesting an association between the overuse of simple sentences and SZ symptoms in general. In contrast, the high rate of null pronouns correlated significantly with positive PANSS scores, suggesting an association between the overuse of null pronominal forms and the positive symptoms of SZ. Finally, a cross-group analysis between samples 1 and 2 indicated a higher degree of grammatical impairment in speakers with multiple psychotic episodes. Altogether, the results strengthen the notion that deficits at the pronominal and sentential levels constitute a cross-cultural linguistic marker of SZ.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291446 |
| spellingShingle | Monica F Chaves Cilene Rodrigues Sidarta Ribeiro Natália B Mota Mauro Copelli Grammatical impairment in schizophrenia: An exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains. PLoS ONE |
| title | Grammatical impairment in schizophrenia: An exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains. |
| title_full | Grammatical impairment in schizophrenia: An exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains. |
| title_fullStr | Grammatical impairment in schizophrenia: An exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Grammatical impairment in schizophrenia: An exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains. |
| title_short | Grammatical impairment in schizophrenia: An exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains. |
| title_sort | grammatical impairment in schizophrenia an exploratory study of the pronominal and sentential domains |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291446 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT monicafchaves grammaticalimpairmentinschizophreniaanexploratorystudyofthepronominalandsententialdomains AT cilenerodrigues grammaticalimpairmentinschizophreniaanexploratorystudyofthepronominalandsententialdomains AT sidartaribeiro grammaticalimpairmentinschizophreniaanexploratorystudyofthepronominalandsententialdomains AT nataliabmota grammaticalimpairmentinschizophreniaanexploratorystudyofthepronominalandsententialdomains AT maurocopelli grammaticalimpairmentinschizophreniaanexploratorystudyofthepronominalandsententialdomains |