Disorganised schizotypy is selectively associated with poorer semantic processing in non-clinical individuals

The nature and severity of semantic memory (SM) impairments in schizophrenia has been related to symptoms, mainly formal thought disorder (FTD), and other clinical factors like length of illness. Symptom-related studies in schizophrenia are often confounded by clinical factors, for example medication and hospitalisations. We completed a schizotypy analogue study to examine the relationship between SM processing and FTD using an analogue schizotypy score referred to as cognitive disorganisation. Sixty individuals without a history of mental illness (M=22.92, SD=2.70) completed a schizotypy questionnaire and three semantic tasks - naming pictures, category fluency and semantic priming. Only decreasing fluency was associated with increasing cognitive disorganisation scores (p=0.029). In line with the prevailing dyssemantic theories, the results highlight that cognitive disorganisation is associated with some difficulties in SM processes, though not all. The observed differential relationships of SM processes to disorganised schizotypy are discussed in relation to previous work, and in terms of potential developmental trajectories for SM impairment in schizophrenia.