What is disorganized thinking?

Disorganized thinking is one of the characteristics of serious mental pathology. We could take schizophrenia as an example, in which this type of thinking usually manifests itself in language, constituting an obstacle to communication.

Thus, in these cases not only does disorganized thinking occur, but also other disorders, such as language disorders or alterations in executive functions. This waythe person’s speech may be incoherent, making the clinician’s work difficult in some cases..

Disorganized thinking

As explained in the introduction, disorganized thinking It is present in a wide variety of mental disorders. In schizophrenia, some personality disorders, severe autism, and some mood disorders, disorganized thinking may be present.

The inability to think clearly and concisely, without a logical structure, It is closely associated with the disorganization of ideational elements. Disorganized thinking can manifest through symptoms such as delirium, hallucinations, and disorganized behavior.

This way, disorganized thinking encompasses a wide range of thought disorders, including loose associations, inappropriate associations between elements, use of strange words or unusual, etc. For this reason, among others, cognitive resources are limited.

Is there awareness of disorganized thinking?

Eugen Bleuler maintained that the defining feature for the diagnosis of schizophrenia was disorganized thinking. However, it coincides with other disorders explained above. In addition, it can be a symptom of mania and, less frequently, depression. In Tourette syndrome, echolalia may be present, also being one of the manifestations. In addition, it is also present in people who present clear symptoms of delirum.

However, there is a big difference between the level of consciousness and disorganized thinking. While people suffering from schizophrenia or psychosis are not aware of it, the person does usually notice the alteration in the rest of the pathologies. In this way, when they go to consultation, they usually talk about mental confusion.

Symptoms

To observe the symptoms of disorganized thinking, the individual’s ability to communicate must be taken into account. Symptoms of disorganized thinking They can be observed in a wide variety of contexts; especially in times of acute stress. However, the chronic functional disability caused by these symptoms is the defining characteristic to conclude that we have a thought disorder:

Alogia. Linguistic poverty in speech. It can be one of the negative symptoms in schizophreniaCircumstantiality. Inability to answer a question without referring to unnecessary detailsBlocking. It is also characteristic of schizophrenia. The person can abruptly interrupt his speech regardless of whether he is able to return to the point where the conversation topic left off or not.Flight of ideas. Considerable jumps from one topic to another. It is very characteristic of bipolar disorderDistracted speech. In the middle of the speech, the person suddenly changes the subjectEcholalia. Repetition of what the interlocutor says over and over againSound association. Variant of the flight of ideas although somewhat more serious. Rhyming or alliteration may occur and is characteristic of bipolar disorder in the manic phase.Tangentiality. Deviate from the topic of the speech so as not to return to the topic of interestUse of unusual language. It can be invented by the person or use unconventional old words, etc.

What happens at a cognitive level?

Disorganized thinking is related to verbal communication. Thought disorders are associated with cognitive processes related to language.

Some studies suggest that disorganized thinking may be due to alterations in information processing. Along these lines, hypotheses have been formulated about a possible dysfunction in executive functions in three mechanisms:

Processing of contextual information. Processing of attentional and working memory information. Monitoring of behavior, including language production.

However, there are a large number of studies apart from theories regarding information processing. Furthermore, even if the hypothesis that a type of neurocognitive deficit was the response to abnormal behavioral patterns was confirmed, it would not imply that the neurocognitive deficit was the cause.

In this sense, more research is needed to support the hypotheses derived from the data collected in the research carried out to date.

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