Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 13, 2025

Probing the Brain in Autism Using fMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging
Published on: September 12, 2011
The correlation between white matter integrity and pragmatic language processing in first episode schizophrenia
Agnieszka Pawełczyk1, Emila Łojek2, Natalia Żurner3
1Department of Affective and Psychotic Disorders, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland. agpawelczyk@gmail.com.
Objective:
Higher-order language disturbances could be the result of white matter tract abnormalities. The study explores the relationship between white matter and pragmatic skills in first-episode schizophrenia.
Methods:
Thirty-four first-episode patients with schizophrenia and 32 healthy subjects participated in a pragmatic language and Diffusion Tensor Imaging study, where fractional anisotropy of the arcuate fasciculus, corpus callosum and cingulum was correlated with the Polish version of the Right Hemisphere Language Battery.
Results:
The patients showed reduced fractional anisotropy in the right arcuate fasciculus, left anterior cingulum bundle and left forceps minor. Among the first episode patients, reduced understanding of written metaphors correlated with reduced fractional anisotropy of left forceps minor, and greater explanation of written and picture metaphors correlated with reduced fractional anisotropy of the left anterior cingulum.
Conclusions:
The white matter dysfunctions may underlie the pragmatic language impairment in schizophrenia. Our results shed further light on the functional neuroanatomical basis of pragmatic language use by patients with schizophrenia.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Language and Cognition
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...
Positive Symptoms of Schizophrenia: Hallucinations and Delusions
Thought Disorders
Disorganized and unusual thought processes mark thought disorders in schizophrenia. One key feature is disorganized speech, where an individual's conversation includes...
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Negative and Cognitive Symptoms of Schizophrenia
Negative Symptoms
Negative symptoms of schizophrenia manifest as deficits in normal emotional and behavioral functioning, profoundly impacting daily life. Individuals with schizophrenia often display a flat affect, characterized by a near-total absence of emotional expression,...

