Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Alterations in Language Function in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Narrative Review of the Evidence
Abstract
Background: Schizophrenia is one of the most common conditions that affects cognitive abilities and language, as it shows behavior is detached from reality, indication disturbance of cognition and language levels. Objectives: This study aimed to conduct a narrative review to investigate the profile of language alterations in comprehension and production and the cognitive mechanisms underlying these alterations. Method: A narrative review was conducted in 2024. Peer-reviewed studies published in databases related to language and neurocognition of patients with schizophrenia were selected for analysis. Results: Online databases were searched for key terms, and 20 articles were found. Articles were screened for inclusion and exclusion, and seven studies were included for analysis. Articles indicated that people with schizophrenia have language alterations in microstructures, especially grammatical deficits in receptive and expressive language, and macrostructures, a total deficit affecting pragmatics and linguistic context. Syntactic processing, executive functions, and theory of mind are underlying language alterations mechanisms. Conclusion: Language alterations include linguistic impairments at both micro- and macro-linguistic structures with syntactic processing and executive functions contributing as predictors.
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