One of the feature of schizophrenia used in diagnosis is anincapacity to recognizemetaphors . Polish researchers have used MRI scans to describe the parts of the mastermind responsible for metaphor processing and observed how these differ between multitude with the disease and those without .
The use of metaphor is profound to human communicating . Like all scientific discipline communicators , at IFLScience we frequently rely on it to explicate unmanageable conception using comparability with more conversant examples . Many metaphor are so familiar we scarce notice them . Since these be given to deviate from language to language , however , they cause interminable discombobulation , and not a little temper , for people learning a new tongue confused by expression like “ give us a hired man ” or “ split up a branch ” .
mass with schizophrenia can find metaphor even more intimidating than those fight with a young language , making command that are harmless to everyone else mislead or even frightening . To understand the elbow room this works on a neurological level Martin Jáni of the Jagiellonian University , Poland had 60 volunteers , half with schizophrenic psychosis , read very shortsighted narration while undergo MRI scans .
A third of the stories each somebody read terminate with someone using a common metaphor , a third ended with a straightforward literal ending , and a third turned to nonsense or absurdness . They were ask to name which were which . The area of the mental capacity that responded to the metaphorical end were dissimilar in the player with schizophrenic psychosis than in the command .
People without schizophrenia showed strong response in the prefrontal cortex and forget amygdala when encountering metaphor . Those with schizophrenia , however , show warm activation in places not usually associated with metaphor processing .
Jáni presented his work at the32nd European College of Neuropsychopharmacology conference . Although not the first to seek to observe the differences in metaphor processing between schizophrenic and the quietus of the population , he call up he and his collaborators have added something new .
" Previous research worker studied brain areas that are connect to impair metaphor understanding in schizophrenic psychosis , so comparing metaphor with real program line , ” Jáni say in astatement . “ However , by add together the absurd punchline , we were able to explore the stage at which the shortfall occurs . We also used everyday metaphors , which would be easily understood . ”
Jáni account the scans suggest the area that commonly process metaphor do not reply properly in citizenry with schizophrenia , and their brains assay to bypass them and process the entropy elsewhere . Sometimes this works , but make an additional cognitive payload on the brain , making other activity harder . At other times the study - arounds fail , leave citizenry thinking an generator or soul they are talk to is being actual .
It ’s well-situated to see how , when so many of our common metaphor refer to wars or other forms of violence , this undermine a sense of safety , and failure to understand more harmless metaphor can still be socially isolating . It is hoped the work will direct to ways to train the brain to recognise metaphors it might currently overlook .
