Language, autobiographical memories and cognition in schizophrenia.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The interplay of language use, autobiographical memories and cognitive functioning in schizophrenia individuals detained in a forensic setting.
IRAS ID
339504
Contact name
Simon Chu
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Central Lancashire
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder characterised by symptoms of delusions (beliefs that are not based on reality, such as an individual believing the police are following them), hallucinations (hearing voices or sounds and seeing things that are not present) and disorganised thoughts. Patients with schizophrenia have cognitive difficulties that may cause problems in autobiographical memory. Autobiographical memory (AM) is memory for episodes in one’s own past. It may affect the development of a sense of self, which in turn may be important in developing relationships, problem-solving and future thinking. AMs are layered personal events that include beliefs and emotions (Fivush, 2010; McAdams, 2018). However, for a coherent narrative, the sequence of the memory being told must be accurate. It is well-documented that forensic populations, including individuals with schizophrenia, have difficulty narrating events coherently. The proposed study will see if this is the case. We will recruit a group of patients with schizophrenia and a group of participants from the general population. We will use several measures to test working memory, disorganised thinking and autobiographical memories with everyone. We will also use several linguistic tools to explore the coherency and language of the participants' responses. Therefore, this study aims to explore the linguistic aspects and the functioning of memory in individuals by analysing working memory, language use, disorganised thinking and autobiographical memory specificity.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/LO/0112
Date of REC Opinion
11 Mar 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion