Syntactic complexity and diversity of spontaneous speech production in schizophrenia spectrum and major depressive disorders.

ABSTRACT: Syntax, the grammatical structure of sentences, is a fundamental aspect of language. It remains debated whether reduced syntactic complexity is unique to schizophrenia spectrum disorder (SSD) or whether it is also present in major depressive disorder (MDD). Furthermore, the association of syntax (including syntactic complexity and diversity) with language-related neuropsychology and psychopathological symptoms across disorders remains unclear. Thirty-four SSD patients and thirty-eight MDD patients diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR as well as forty healthy controls (HC) were included and tasked with describing four pictures from the Thematic Apperception Test. We analyzed the produced speech regarding its syntax delineating measures for syntactic complexity (the total number of main clauses

SUBMITTER: Schneider K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10227047 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature