Praise: when language and thought stop flowing

Thinking and constructing a more or less elaborate speech may seem simple, since it is something that is done continuously. However, it is a complex and time-consuming process that involves a lot of mental threads and intermediate steps.

A large majority of the population manages to carry out these processes successfully and structure a coherent and cohesive internal discourse who is capable of expressing and transmitting to others through a rich and elaborate language.

However, there are a large number of people who are unable to establish a logical and understandable speech. This occurs in cases where it enters the scene a psychological phenomenon known as alogia. Why is this happening?

• Maybe you are interested: "Anhedonia: the inability to feel pleasure"

What is alogia?

The praise is an alteration in the form and content of thought and language in the form of impoverishment, impoverishment observable in oral discourse.

While it is observed in language, the main alteration of people with alogia is at the level of thought

. This is revealed as illogical and uncoordinated, slowed down and with severe difficulties for abstraction. It is difficult to develop and manage the different ideas, taking longer to respond to external stimulation.

Despite the large number of aspects that it incorporates, the praise It is not considered a disorder per se but a symptom of another pathology or alteration, as occurs for example with the abulia.

Associated symptoms

The most visible symptoms are the presence of a decreased fluency of thought, uninformative speech content and reduction in the level of spontaneity.

The person with allergy has poor speech fluency, expressing himself through brief communications and even based on monosyllables. Speech is no longer spontaneous and attempts to communicate with the environment are reduced, being more reactive. When it occurs, communication tends to be very concrete, repetitive, and with little content and information reflected in it. It is also frequent that blockages and interruptions appear in both speech and thought, losing their direction. For this reason derailments often occur, loss of association between the different components of discourse.

Another relevant aspect is the difficulty in capturing metaphors and symbolic language., with which the person tends to understand and use only the literal meaning of the terms.

For all that it implies, he praises her supposes a high level of alteration in the life of those who suffer it. Social interaction is greatly hindered, leading to severe difficulties in family and social life. Also in the workplace there is a great effect, as well as in the rest of the vital areas of the individual.

Causes of allogy

Alogy is a symptom linked to logic, the ability to link thinking, inhibit it and manage it consciously. The causes of this alteration are linked to a dysfunction in the synthesis of dopamine in specific areas of the brain, specifically the mesocortical pathway. The regions that are part of this pathway do not receive enough of this substance, which causes both the allergy and other negative symptoms.

Aside from it It can also occur due to the presence of injuries in said pathway, in the connection of the frontal lobe with the basal ganglia or for different types of damage to the temporal lobe, specifically in the Wernicke area and in other areas linked to language.

Disorders in which it appears

The allegiance or poverty of thought it is especially visible in schizophrenia, presenting itself as a negative symptom. In fact, it is one of the main negative symptoms of this disorder. This implies that it supposes a severe reduction of the basic capacities of the subject.

In addition to schizophrenia, allogy can appear in other types of disorders. For example, it is common in people with dementia. Nor is it strange that it appears in other types of pathologies, especially when they have psychotic characteristics.

Finally, manifestations similar to the alogia have been described on occasions. as an adverse reaction to some medications or substances that reduce the level of dopamine in the brain. A classic example is the classic antipsychotics, which work by reducing the level of dopamine in a non-selective way. Although this is useful in certain nerve pathways to reduce positive symptoms in others, it can make it difficult and aggravate, and even generate, negative symptoms such as alogy.

• Maybe you are interested: "The 6 types of schizophrenia and associated characteristics"

Treatment

The treatment of these types of symptoms can be complex to achieve, but despite this more and more progress is being made in this regard. As in many other cases, the way to treat a symptom such as allergy will depend largely on its etiology (causes).

Taking into account that it is especially linked to schizophrenia, at the pharmacological level, atypical antipsychotics are usually used, which generate an increase in dopamine at the mesocortical level by acting as antagonists of the serotonin in different brain nuclei (which in turn inhibits dopamine synthesis, which is why an inhibitor is being inhibited).

The use of derivatives of amphetamines It also seems to generate positive results when the aspect to be treated is only the presence of allergy, although more research is required in this regard. This consideration should not be taken into account in the case of schizophrenia, since the increase in activation could generate psychotic outbreaks and positive symptoms.

On a psychological level The use of different types of therapies is recommended depending on the origin of these symptoms. Regardless of the specific programs used, in general psychosocial rehabilitation and Psychoeducation are useful both for the individual and for the environment to have tools and guidelines for performance. Social and problem-solving skills training can also help.

• Related article: "Psychopharmaceuticals: drugs that act on the brain"

Bibliographic references:

• American Psychiatric Association (2002). DSM-IV-TR. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Spanish edition. Barcelona: Masson. (Original in English from 2000).

• Desai, N., Gangadhar, B.N., Pradhan, N. & Channabasavanna, S.M. (1984). Treatment of negative schizophrenia with d-amphetamine. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 723-724.

• Santos, J.L. (2012). Psychopathology. CEDE PIR Preparation Manual, 01. CEDE. Madrid.