The effects of vestibular stimulation on verbalization in chronic schizophrenics.

An experimental group of seven nonparanoid schizophrenic adults was given eight weeks of sensory-stimulating treatment, while a control group of seven similar subjects was given eight weeks of sedentary activities. Three components of language, in response to 16 questions, were measured pre- and post-treatment: number of words used, speed of response, and relevance of response. Analysis of covariance showed that the post-test scores of the experimental group were better than the post-test scores of the experimental group in relevance of response at the .01 level. These results suggest that eight weeks of sensory-stimulating activities can improve the quality of nonparanoid schizophrenic language, but does not appear to have an effect on the quantity or rate of that language.