DELTA-LANG aims to understand the fundamental role of speech and language in thinking and behaviour. By grasping the association between language and thought, we aim to use speech as a marker of mental states, in particular for psychosis. We will leverage changes in speech to inform risk assessment in psychosis and predict imminent relapse at clinically relevant time scales. Psychosis affects approximately 3% of the population and often recurs after remission, with 80% of patients experiencing multiple relapses. It is an important clinical utility, but also acts as a showcase to explore changes in language to reflect actual mental states.
Our project tests the hypothesis that linguistic change – the delta of language – can serve as a personalized and interpretable predictor of state transitions. In this case, from remission to psychosis. To achieve this, DELTA-LANG integrates psychiatry, linguistics, neuroimaging, and e-health in four synergistic work packages:
1. Define theory-driven, generalizable language metrics across languages.
2. Link these metrics to brain connectivity using dense sampling during transitions from psychosis to remission.
3. Validate predictive power retrospectively in a large longitudinal cohort.
4. Translate findings into a remote monitoring system.
Expected impact includes fundamental knowledge on how language changes can be used as a window into mental state. Including earlier intervention windows, reduced hospitalizations, and a scalable methodology for cognitive phenotyping in real-world settings. Beyond psychiatry, the project will advance fundamental knowledge on how language relates to thought and brain function.
