Coreference Delays in Psychotic Discourse: Widening the Temporal Window

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Coherent discourse relies on referencing entities over time within specific temporal windows.
• Deficits in controlling linguistic reference are observed in schizophrenia (Sz).
• This study investigates dynamic temporal measures of reference in speakers with Sz.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test the hypothesis that impaired control over reference in Sz manifests in dynamic temporal measures.
• To analyze referential noun phrase (NP) distribution and temporal dynamics in speech.
• To identify linguistic markers differentiating Sz from controls and clinical high risk (CHR) individuals.

Main Methods:

• Collected conversational speech from 20 individuals with Sz, 20 CHR, and 20 controls (Chilean Spanish).
• Utilized directed speech graphs with referential NPs as nodes.
• Analyzed NP density, recurrence patterns, and topological distances between entities.

Main Results:

• The Sz group exhibited higher NP density compared to controls and CHR groups.
• Sz speakers showed increased recurrences of entities with greater topological distances between them.
• Logistic regression using topological measures achieved 84.2% accuracy in distinguishing Sz from controls.

Conclusions:

• The findings indicate a widened temporal window for entity maintenance and co-reference in Sz discourse.
• This pattern supports earlier evidence of deficits in cognitive control over linguistic reference in psychosis.
• Results inform neurocognitive models of language in Sz and machine learning classifiers for psychotic speech.