back, expression becomes highly disorganized. A less severe form of this type of jumping around is called tangentiality, in which the speaker leaps from one thought to another, but in a way that makes sense. For example, “I can’t wait to go to Ocean City. They’ve got the best margaritas there. I have to find a place to get my car fixed this afternoon. Where are you going for lunch?” We often speak this way when we’re excited. Desire dopamine gets revved up, and overwhelms control dopamine’s more logical approach to communication. At the far end of the spectrum is word salad, the most severe
...more
