Linguistic correlates of panic disorder: A review

Abstract

Currently, the study of verbal forms of communication of patients with neurotic disorders is of great interest. According to studies, certain specific features of the speech of patients with neuroses have been identified. They affect both quantitative and qualitative characteristics of speech. In particular, the tendency to intensification of speech generation (verbosity), a more complex discursive structure with greater depth and degree of branching, a tendency to use certain lexical units and grammatical constructions were revealed. The detected features correlate with the patient’s cognitive attitudes and the level of his emotional stress. Of additional interest is the assessment of the dynamics of various indicators of speech in the process of psychotherapy. An extremely small number of studies have been devoted to studying the linguistic characteristics of speech in patients with panic disorder. At the same time, it is in this category that the clinical manifestations are most distinct and illustrative, which gives many advantages in the study of various aspects of speech. According to the already available data, patients with panic disorder are characterized by a decrease in control over the semantic side of the utterance in favor of control over the articulation of the spoken text. The correlation of pitch and tone variability depending on the emotional conditions of the story was revealed. Further study of speech features in patients with panic disorder is necessary to improve and expand existing knowledge, potential use in the process of psychotherapeutic treatment.