Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
Published on: May 19, 2015
What the heart thinks, the tongue speaks: a study on depression and lexical choice
Stijn Vanheule1, Mattias Desmet, Reitske Meganck
1Department of Psychoanalysis and Clinical Consulting, Ghent University, H. Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. Stijn.Vanheule@UGent.be
Abstract:
The present study examined symptom-specificity in depression, testing the hypothesis that affective, cognitive, and somatic dimensions in depressive symptoms, as measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II, cohere, respectively, with the use of affective-, cognitive-, and somatic-related words in natural language, as measured with the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. Based on questionnaire and interview data from 32 mental health outpatients, analyses indicate scores for affective depressive symptoms correlate significantly with affective word use, cognitive depressive symptoms are related to cognitively oriented word use combined with affective word use, and the presence of somatic depressive symptoms correlates significantly with words referring to physical states and functions. These results indicate that different facets of depression have specific correlates and that natural word use serves as a psychological marker. From a psychometric point of view, this study substantiates the concurrent validity of the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC2001) categories under study and the Beck Depression Inventory-II subscales for affective, cognitive, and somatic symptoms.
Related Concept Videos
Language and Cognition
Depressive Disorders: Etiology
Biological Factors in Depression
Biological predispositions significantly influence the risk of developing depressive disorders. Genetic studies highlight the role of variations in the serotonin transporter...
Higher Mental Functions of the Brain: Language
Language formation and comprehension take place in the dominant hemisphere. The dominant hemisphere is responsible for understanding the meaning of spoken, written, or sign language, as well as the ability to communicate. For most people, the left hemisphere is the dominant one. The right hemisphere, then, gives tone and emotional context to the...
Long-term Depression
Long-term Depression
Calcium Ion Concentration Mechanism
If over time, all...
Depressive Disorders: MDD and Dysthymia

