The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

Can the way you speak and write today predict your future mental state, even the onset of psychosis? In this fascinating talk, neuroscientist Mariano Sigman reflects on ancient Greece and the origins of introspection to investigate how our words hint at our inner lives and details a word-mapping algorithm that could predict the development of schizophrenia. "We may be seeing in the future a very different form of mental health," Sigman says, "based on objective, quantitative and automated analysis of the words we write, of the words we say."

Mariano Sigman: Your words may predict your future mental health

Your words may predict your future mental health

Ancient texts reveal a shift in human consciousness, from obeying divine voices to developing introspection around 3000 years ago.

A novel algorithm mapping words to ideas quantitatively traces the evolution of introspection in Greek and Judeo-Christian texts.

Predicting mental health through speech patterns offers a new approach to diagnostics, exemplified by psychosis onset prediction.

*The Secret Life of the Mind: How Our Brain Thinks, Feels and Decides*

Automated analysis of free speech predicts psychosis onset in high-risk youths

science

health

cognitive science

future

communication

language

brain

self

mental health

writing

identity

neuroscience

TED Stage Talk