What is linguistic creativity in schizophrenia?

Authors

  • Oliver Delgaram-Nejad Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Gerasimos Chatzidamianos Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Dawn Archer Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Samuel Larner Manchester Metropolitan University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.19727

Keywords:

schizophrenia, thought disorder, creativity, language communication

Abstract

Background: In an experiment in which clinicians were asked to identify formal thought disorder (FTD) in schizophrenia based on writing samples, the mania and creative writing samples received more FTD diagnoses than the FTD samples. We conducted a systematic review to see whether figuration, associated with both schizophrenia and creative uses of language, could contextualize these findings.

Methods: This was a systematic review only (PROSPERO ID:116255). We searched AMED, Child Development and Adolescent Studies, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycARTICLES, and PsycINFO.

Results. Many studies used figuration tasks to test creativity and vice versa, and key factors affecting figurative language output and processing were positive and negative symptom ratios, IQ, and schizophrenia subtype.

Discussion/conclusion: Our review suggests that the clinicians in the experiment mentioned above perceived FTD as characterized by linguistic markers of verbal and figural creativity that are impacted by FTD itself. FTD is more likely characterized by expressional disfluencies in specific contexts.

Author Biographies

  • Oliver Delgaram-Nejad, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Oliver Delgaram-Nejad is a PhD candidate in linguistics and psychology at the Manchester Metropolitan University. His thesis combines corpus linguistic, experimental psycholinguistic, and complementary qualitative approaches to language and creativity in schizophrenia. Specifically, his work explores the production and comprehension of figurative language both within and outside the context of formal thought disorder.

  • Gerasimos Chatzidamianos, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Dr. Gerasimos Chatzidamianos, FHEA, CPsychol, is an experimental psycholinguist who completed his MPhil and PhD research at the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge, UK, exploring certain psycholinguistic manifestations of schizophrenia in deaf adults. A qualified psychology practitioner in Greece (Department of Psychology, University of Athens, Greece), and a qualified teacher in special education, Gerasimos is currently a senior lecturer in psychology at Manchester Metropolitan University.

  • Dawn Archer, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Dawn Archer is a professor of pragmatics and corpus linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University. As well as research interests falling within the areas of pragmatics and corpus linguistics, she undertakes forensic linguistic investigations. Current projects include (but are not limited to) her work with police crisis negotiators, exploring the language of negotiation and influence with persons in crisis, and her work on deception detection, with a range of professional groups/associations.

  • Samuel Larner, Manchester Metropolitan University

    Dr. Samuel Larner, FHEA, is a senior lecturer in forensic linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University. His research to date has been in the areas of forensic authorship analysis, deception detection, and forensic linguistics methods. More recent projects are related to the youth justice system and disclosures of adverse childhood experiences.

References

Abraham, A., Windmann, S., McKenna, P., and Güntürkün, O. (2007). Creative thinking in schizophrenia: The role of executive dysfunction and symptom severity. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 12(3), 235–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/13546800601046714

Al-Issa, I. (1976). Creativity and overinclusion in chronic schizophrenia. Psychological Reports, 38(3), 979–982. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1976.38.3.979

Andreasen, N. C. (1979a). Thought, language, and communication disorders: I. Clinical assessment, definition of terms, and evaluation of their reliability. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36(12), 1315–1321. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1979.01780120045006

Andreasen, N. C. (1979b). Thought, language, and communication disorders: II. Diagnostic significance. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36(12), 1325–1330. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1979.01780120055007

Andreasen, N. J., and Powers, P. S. (1975). Creativity and psychosis: An examination of conceptual style. Archives of General Psychiatry, 32(1), 70–73. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.1975.01760190072008

Andreasen, N. J. C., Tsuang, M. T., and Canter, A. (1974). The significance of thought disorder in diagnostic evaluations. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 15(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-440X(74)90061-3

Arciniegas, D. B. (2015). Psychosis. Continuum: Lifelong Learning in Neurology, 21(3) (Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry), 715–736. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.CON.0000466662.89908.e7

Bergemann, N., Parzer, P., Jaggy, S., Auler, B., Mundt, C., and Maier-Braunleder, S. (2008). Estrogen and comprehension of metaphoric speech in women suffering from schizophrenia: Results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Schizophrenia Bulletin, 34(6), 1172–1181. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbm138

Bilgrami, Z., Guittierez, E., Sarac, C., Cecchi, G., and Corcoran, C. (2020). Automated detection of increased metaphor production in open-ended speech in schizophrenia and its risk states. Biological Psychiatry, 87(9), S368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.02.943

Billow, R. M., Rossman, J., Lewis, N., Goldman, D., and Raps, C. (1997). Observing expressive and deviant language in schizophrenia. Metaphor and Symbol, 12(3), 205–216. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327868ms1203_3

Binz, B., and Brüne, M. (2010). Pragmatic language abilities, mentalising skills and executive functioning in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 7(3), 91–100.

Brüne, M., and Bodenstein, L. (2005). Proverb comprehension reconsidered – ‘theory of mind’ and the pragmatic use of language in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 75(2–3), 233–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2004.11.006

Chakrabarty, M., Sarkar, S., Chatterjee, A., Ghosal, M., Guha, P., and Deogaonkar, M. (2014). Metaphor comprehension deficit in schizophrenia with reference to the hypothesis of abnormal lateralization and right hemisphere dysfunction. Language Sciences, 44, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.langsci.2014.01.002

Cropley, A. J., and Sikand, J. S. (1973). Creativity and schizophrenia. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 40(3), 462. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0034516

Davis, M. A. (2009). Understanding the relationship between mood and creativity: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.04.001

Deamer, F., Palmer, E., Vuong, Q. C., Ferrier, N., Finkelmeyer, A., Hinzen, W., and Watson, S. (2019). Non-literal understanding and psychosis: Metaphor comprehension in individuals with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research: Cognition, 18, 100159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scog.2019.100159

De Bonis, M., and Epelbaum, C. (1997). The comprehension of metaphors in schizophrenia. Psychopathology, 30(3), 149–154. https://doi.org/10.1159/000285041

Elvevåg, B., Helsen, K., De Hert, M., Sweers, K., and Storms, G. (2011). Metaphor interpretation and use: A window into semantics in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research, 133(1–3), 205–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2011.07.009

Forrest, A. D., Hay, A. J., and Kushner, A. W. (1969). Studies in speech disorder in schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 115(524), 833–841. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.115.524.833

Fukuhara, K., Ogawa, Y., Tanaka, H., Nagata, Y., Nishida, S., Haga, D., and Nishikawa, T. (2017). Impaired interpretation of others’ behavior is associated with difficulties in recognizing pragmatic language in patients with schizophrenia. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 46(5), 1309–1318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-017-9497-8

Heinrichs, R. W., and Zakzanis, K. K. (1998). Neurocognitive deficit in schizophrenia: A quantitative review of the evidence. Neuropsychology, 12(3), 426. https://doi.org/10.1037/0894-4105.12.3.426

Jaracz, J., Patrzala, A., and Rybakowski, J. K. (2012). Creative thinking deficits in patients with schizophrenia: Neurocognitive correlates. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200(7), 588–593. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0b013e31825bfc49

Keefe, J. A., and Magaro, P. A. (1980). Creativity and schizophrenia: An equivalence of cognitive processing. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89(3), 390. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.89.3.390

Ketteler, D., Theodoridou, A., Ketteler, S., and Jäger, M. (2012). High order linguistic features such as ambiguity processing as relevant diagnostic markers for schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research and Treatment, 2012, 825050. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/825050

Kircher, T. T., Leube, D. T., Erb, M., Grodd, W., and Rapp, A. M. (2007). Neural correlates of metaphor processing in schizophrenia. Neuroimage, 34(1), 281–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.08.044

Marini, A., Spoletini, I., Rubino, I. A., Ciuffa, M., Bria, P., Martinotti, G., ... and Spalletta, G. (2008). The language of schizophrenia: An analysis of micro and macrolinguistic abilities and their neuropsychological correlates. Schizophrenia Research, 105(1–3), 144–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2008.07.011

Mashal, N., Vishne, T., Laor, N., and Titone, D. (2013). Enhanced left frontal involvement during novel metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia: Evidence from functional neuroimaging. Brain and Language, 124(1), 66–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandl.2012.11.012

Mashal, N., Vishne, T., and Laor, N. (2014). The role of the precuneus in metaphor comprehension: Evidence from an fMRI study in people with schizophrenia and healthy participants. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 8, 818. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00818

Mazza, M., Di Michele, V., Pollice, R., Casacchia, M., and Roncone, R. (2008). Pragmatic language and theory of mind deficits in people with schizophrenia and their relatives. Psychopathology, 41(4), 254–263. https://doi.org/10.1159/000128324

McKenna, P. J., Oh, T. M., and Oh, T. (2005). Schizophrenic speech: Making sense of bathroots and ponds that fall in doorways. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mo, S., Su, Y., Chan, R. C., and Liu, J. (2008). Comprehension of metaphor and irony in schizophrenia during remission: The role of theory of mind and IQ. Psychiatry Research, 157(1–3), 21–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2006.04.002

Moher, D., Shamseer, L., Clarke, M., Ghersi, D., Liberati, A., Petticrew, M., ... and PRISMA-P Group (2015). Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Systematic Reviews, 4(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-4-1; https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-1-1

Ortiz-Gil, J., Pomarol-Clotet, E., Salvador, R., Canales-Rodríguez, E. J., Sarró, S., Gomar, J. J., ... and McKenna, P. J. (2011). Neural correlates of cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. British Journal of Psychiatry, 199(3), 202–210. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.110.083600

Pawelczyk, A., Kotlicka-Antczak, M., Lojek, E., Ruszpel, A., and Pawelczyk, T. (2018). Schizophrenia patients have higher-order language and extralinguistic impairments. Schizophrenia Research, 192, 274–280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2017.04.030

Piovan, C., Gava, L., and Campeol, M. (2016). Theory of mind and social functioning in schizophrenia: Correlation with figurative language abnormalities, clinical symptoms and general intelligence. Rivista di Psichiatria, 51(1), 20–29.

Popay, J., Roberts, H., Sowden, A., Petticrew, M., Arai, L., Rodgers, M., ... and Duffy, S. (2006). Guidance on the conduct of narrative synthesis in systematic reviews. A product from the ESRC methods programme. Version 1, b92. Lancaster: Lancaster University.

Rocco, M. M. V. D. M., Roncone, P. R., and Casacchia, M. (2007). Pragmatic language and theory of mind deficits in people with schizophrenia and their relatives. Psychopathology, 708, 2.

Rodriguez-Ferrera, S., McCarthy, R. A., and McKenna, P. J. (2001). Language in schizophrenia and its relationship to formal thought disorder. Psychological Medicine, 31(2), 197. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329170100321X

Sampedro, A., Peña, J., Ibarretxe-Bilbao, N., Sánchez, P., Iriarte-Yoller, N., Pavón, C., … and Ojeda, N. (2020). Neurocognitive, social cognitive, and clinical predictors of creativity in schizophrenia. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 129, 206–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2020.06.019

Schneider, S., Wagels, L., Haeussinger, F. B., Fallgatter, A. J., Ehlis, A. C., and Rapp, A. M. (2015). Haemodynamic and electrophysiological markers of pragmatic language comprehension in schizophrenia. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 16(6), 398–410. https://doi.org/10.3109/15622975.2015.1019359

Sirriyeh, R., Lawton, R., Gardner, P., and Armitage, G. (2012). Reviewing studies with diverse designs: The development and evaluation of a new tool. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 18(4), 746–752. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2753.2011.01662.x

Son, S., Kubota, M., Miyata, J., Fukuyama, H., Aso, T., Urayama, S. I., ... and Takahashi, H. (2015). Creativity and positive symptoms in schizophrenia revisited: Structural connectivity analysis with diffusion tensor imaging. Schizophrenia Research, 164(1–3), 221–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2015.03.009

Varga, E., Schnell, Z., Tényi, T., Németh, N., Simon, M., Hajnal, A., ... and Herold, R. (2014). Compensatory effect of general cognitive skills on non-literal language processing in schizophrenia: A preliminary study. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 29, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneuroling.2014.01.001

Wang, L., Xu, X., Wang, Q., Healey, G., Su, L., and Pang, W. (2017). Are individuals with schizophrenia or schizotypy more creative? Evidence from multiple tests of creative potential. Creativity Research Journal, 29(2), 145–156. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2017.1302777

Zeev-Wolf, M., Faust, M., Levkovitz, Y., Harpaz, Y., and Goldstein, A. (2015). Magnetoencephalographic evidence of early right hemisphere overactivation during metaphor comprehension in schizophrenia. Psychophysiology, 52(6), 770–781. https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.12408

Downloads

Published

2021-11-20

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2020)

Section

Articles

License

© Equinox Publishing Ltd.

For information regarding our Open Access policy, click here.

How to Cite

Delgaram-Nejad, O. ., Chatzidamianos, G., Archer, D., & Larner, S. . (2021). What is linguistic creativity in schizophrenia?. Journal of Interactional Research in Communication Disorders, 11(2), 194–216. https://doi.org/10.1558/jircd.19727

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >>