Future directions for examining semantic memory in schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Language abnormalities in schizophrenia are regarded as a hallmark of the disease. Clinical investigations provided accurate descriptions of the different manifestations of abnormal language use, and behavioral studies suggested several mechanisms that might contribute to these abnormalities. This review focuses on semantic memory dysfunction and, primarily, on functional methodologies such as ERP and fMRI that provide more direct measures of abnormal neural mechanisms related to language use in schizophrenia. In addition, the review points to future directions of study of the areas that received little attention thus far and whose investigation might contribute to a more detailed understanding of semantic memory dysfunction in schizophrenia.