Thought blocking
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Thought blocking is a neuropsychological symptom expressing a sudden and involuntary silence within a speech, and eventually an abrupt switch to another topic.[1] Persons undergoing thought blocking may utter incomprehensible speech; they may also repeat words involuntarily or make up new words (neologism).[citation needed] The main causes of thought blocking are schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, petit mal seizures, post-traumatic stress disorder, bradyphrenia, aphasia, dementia and delirium.[2]
Thought blocking occurs most often in people with psychiatric illnesses, most commonly schizophrenia.[3] A person's speech is suddenly interrupted by silences that may last a few seconds to a minute or longer.[4][5] When the person begins speaking again, after the block, they will often speak about an unrelated subject. Blocking is also described as an experience of unanticipated, quick and total emptying of the mind.[6] When evaluating a patient for schizophrenia, a physician may look for thought blocking.[7] People with schizophrenia commonly experience thought blocking and may interpret the experience in peculiar ways.[6] For example, a person with schizophrenia might remark that another person has removed their thoughts from their brain.[6]
Anxiety disorders
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is defined as excessive worry about matters in two or more separate subjects for at least six months.[8] When a person experiences an anxiety attack, they may become so hyperfocused on the distressing stimuli or overwhelmed with the situation that regular speech is difficult for that person to produce. The thought blocking that occurs in this instance is usually short lived because anxiety attacks are transient. After an episode occurs, a person is typically able to resume their normal way of speaking.
Seizures
Thought blocking is associated with absence seizures. As such, it can be hard for people to organize their speech, resulting in thought blocking.[9]