Speech as a Graph: Developmental Perspectives on the Organization of Spoken Language
Natália Bezerra Mota1, Janaina Weissheimer2, Ingrid Finger3
1Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Research Department, Motrix Laboratory - Motrix, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Summary
Word recurrence graphs analyze thought processes in language over the last decade. This method helps distinguish typical and atypical development across the lifespan, considering various biological and social factors.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Computational Linguistics
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Language analysis offers insights into mental processes.
- Natural language processing tools are increasingly used for psychopathological symptom descriptions.
- Graph theoretical approaches to speech organization have emerged over the past decade.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review 10 years of studies using word recurrence graphs to characterize thought processes in discourse.
- To explore the application of these graphs in understanding typical and atypical development across the lifespan.
- To examine the influence of environmental factors on cognition and discourse.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of word recurrence graphs in discourse.
- Application of graph theoretical approaches to language.
- Examination of naturalistic and school-based protocols.
Main Results:
- Word recurrence graphs have been used to study formal thought disorder in psychosis.
- The method has been extended to atypical development, differential diagnosis (e.g., dementia), and typical development from childhood to older adulthood.
- Environmental factors like education and reading habits impact cognition and discourse in various populations.
Conclusions:
- Word recurrence graphs provide a quantitative method to assess mental processes through language.
- This approach can help disentangle biological and social markers of typical and atypical behavior.
- Future research can leverage word recurrence graphs to address complex developmental questions considering biological and social factors.
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