Cognitive correlates of ‘Formal Thought Disorder’ in a non-clinical sample with elevated schizotypal traits

Cliff Deyo*, Robyn Langdon

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Different dimensions of formal thought disorder (FTD) are distinguished by different patterns of cognitive dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia; however, inconsistent findings may relate to patient-related confounds. To avoid these confounds, we examined relationships between FTD dimensions and cognitive domains in a non-clinical sample with attenuated schizophrenia-like traits, or schizotypal traits, on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (N = 91). To our knowledge, no study has done this. FTD dimension scores were derived following principal component analysis of the Scale for the Assessment of Thought, Language and Communication (TLC dimensions: Disorganisation, Verbosity, Emptiness) and the Thought and Language Index (TLI dimensions: Negative, Idiosyncratic). The sample completed a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Findings indicate that higher-order reasoning, executive function (set shift and generative ability) and language/semantic functioning are the primary drivers of FTD in our non-clinical sample with elevated schizotypal traits, in line with schizophrenia research. FTD may have shared aetiology along the schizophrenia spectrum.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number113971
    Pages (from-to)1-12
    Number of pages12
    JournalPsychiatry Research
    Volume302
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Aug 2021

    Keywords

    • Formal thought disorder
    • Cognition
    • Schizotypal

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