Which term corresponds to invented or distorted words?

• A. Derailment
• B. Neologisms
• C. Incoherence
• D. Echolalia

Answer: (B)

Neologisms reflect a disturbance in language production and formal thought, where the patient creates new or distorted words that have no widely understood meaning. This hallmark shows disorganized thinking typical of some psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia, where speech may include invented terms that the patient uses as if they have meaning.

The other terms describe different speech problems: derailment is a sudden derailment of topics; incoherence means speech is so disorganized it’s barely understandable; echolalia is the automatic repetition of another person’s words. None of these capture the creation of new or distorted words, which is why neologisms is the best answer.