The effects of psychoactive drugs and neuroleptics on language in normal subjects and schizophrenic patients: a review
F. Salomé, P Boyer, Michel Fayol
European Psychiatry December 1, 2000 DOI: 10.1016/s0924-9338(00)00520-4 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Systematic review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Interventions | alcohol amphetamines secobarbital L-dopa psilocybin ketamine fenfluramine |
| Topics | Ketamine Psilocybin |
| Keywords | Amphetamine Schizophrenia object-oriented programming Thought disorder Fenfluramine Secobarbital Psychopharmacology Psychosis Hallucinogen Clinical psychology Anesthesia Dopamine |
| Citations | 21 |
| Key findings | Conventional neuroleptics reduce language disorders in schizophrenia, while different psychoactive drugs variably increase, focus, unfocus, or impair language in healthy subjects. |
Abstract
The aim of this survey is to present an overview of research into psychopharmacology as regards the effects of different psychoactive drugs and neuroleptics (NL) on language in normal subjects and schizophrenic patients. Eighteen studies that have investigated the effects of different drugs (alcohol, amphetamines, secobarbital, L-dopa, psilocybin, ketamine, fenfluramine) and neuroleptics (conventional and atypical) on language are reviewed. There are no studies concerning the effects of neuroleptics on language in healthy subjects. The results of the effects of other molecules indicate that language production can be increased (alcohol, amphetamine, secobarbital), rendered more complex (d-amphetamine), more focused (L-dopa) or more unfocused (psilocybin) and clearly impaired (ketamine). For schizophrenic patients, most studies show that conventional neuroleptic treatments, at a therapeutic dosage and in acute or chronic mode, reduce language disorders at all levels (clinic, linguistic, psycholinguistic). In conjunction with other molecules, the classical NL, when administered at a moderate dosage and in chronic mode, modify language in schizophrenia, either by improving the verbal flow and reducing pauses and positive thought disorder (NL + amphetamine) or by inducing an impairment in the language measurements (NL + fenfluramine). Clinical, methodological and theoretical considerations of results are debated in the framework of schizophrenic language disorders.