thought disorder
a cognitive disturbance that affects communication, language, or thought content, including poverty of ideas, neologisms, paralogia, word salad, and delusions. A thought disorder is considered by some to be the most important mark of schizophrenia (see also schizophrenic thinking), but it is also associated with mood disorders, dementia, mania, and neurological diseases (among other conditions). Also called thought disturbance. See content-thought disorder; formal thought disorder.