Schizophrenia and Semantic Aphasia: A Clinical Comparison

Abstract

In recent years, there has been an emerging body of evidence which suggests that some types of schizophrenia may have a neurologic pathogenesis. This paper is addressed to the exploration of cortical mechanisms in schizophrenia by comparing the language disturbances of chronic schizophrenia with those of semantic aphasia. While there is little commonality between schizophrenic word-salad and jargon aphasia, there are similarities between schizophrenic agrammatism and semantic aphasia in terms of impressive and expressive grammar and in the manifestation of paraphasia and paralogia. It is concluded that while no cortical lesions are likely in schizophrenia, there may be a neurologic arousal/attention abnormality which impairs cortical efficiency, giving rise to a language disturbance symptomaticaily similar to, but pathogenically different from semantic aphasia.

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Notes on contributors

Lance A. Portnoff

Joyce Laing works in the Department of Child and Family Psychiatry, Playfield House, Cupar, Fife, and is a Consultant Art Therapist to Psychiatric Hospitals and Prisons and Chairwoman of the Scottish Society of Art and Psychology.