Aberrant brain language network in schizophrenia spectrum disorder: a systematic review of its relation to language signs beyond symptoms.

Background

Language disturbances are a core feature of schizophrenia, often studied as a formal thought disorder. The neurobiology of language in schizophrenia has been addressed within the same framework, that language and thought are equivalents considering symptoms and not signs. This review aims to systematically examine published peer-reviewed studies that employed neuroimaging techniques to investigate aberrant brain-language networks in individuals with schizophrenia in relation to linguistic signs.

Methods

We employed a language model for automatic data extraction. We selected our studies according to the PRISMA recommendations, and we conducted the quality assessment of the selected studies according to the STROBE guidance.

Results

We analyzed the findings from 37 studies, categorizing them based on patient characteristics, brain measures, and language task types. The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and superior temporal gyrus (STG) exhibited the most significant differences among these studies and paradigms.

Conclusions

We propose guidelines for future research in this field based on our analysis. It is crucial to investigate larger networks involved in language processing, and language models with brain metrics must be integrated to enhance our understanding of the relationship between language and brain abnormalities in schizophrenia.

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024 Alonso-Sanchez, Z-Rivera, Otero, Portal, Cavieres and Alfaro-Faccio.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.