Semantic – Pragmatic Attributes and Cognition in Acute and Chronic Schizophrenics: A Case Comparative Study 1Mithila Poonacha, 2Shivani Tiwari & 3Rajashekhar Bellur

Abstract

Schizophrenia is a thought disorder, displaying unusual language and cognitive impairments. There exists a dearth of studies relating the language deficits to the onset of the disorder. This study profiled few aspects of semantic and pragmatic abilities in acute and chronic schizophrenics and compared with their cognitive abilities. One acute schizophrenic and one chronic schizophrenic patient participated in the study. Cognition was assessed using the “Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-R)” Kannada version. Aspects of semantics (semantic storage, recall/access and the word association) and pragmatics were assessed using a test battery.Results showed distinct variations in both subjects in cognitive as well as linguistic aspects (semantic and pragmatic). Abnormalities were found both at single word level as well as discourse comparable to dysfunction of cognition, and onset of the disorder. The findings highlighted the differences in semantic-pragmatic and cognitive aspects in terms of onset of the disorder. Though, the study is a preliminary attempt and warrants further research for substantiation.