A comparison of two working memory tasks in aphasia

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Introduction: Aphasia is a disorder which stems from cerebral lesion and impairs both language expression and comprehension. Objective: to investigate language comprehension in aphasic individuals through the comprehension test battery of Montreal Toulouse Test (alpha version). Study Design: A retrospective, descriptive, qualitative-quantitative research involving 60 subjects, ranging from 40-70 years old. Data crossing including comprehension of: spoken words (SWC), written words (WWC), spoken simple phrases (SSPC), written simple phrases (WSPC), spoken complex phrases (SCPC) and written complex phrases (WCPC). Results: the higher the SWC, the higher the WWC; the higher the SSPC and SCPC, the higher the WSPC and WCPC and vice versa; comparing spoken and written comprehension: the higher the WC, the higher the PC; the higher the SPC, the higher the CPC and vice-versa; no correlation between age and gender was found. Conclusion: the comprehension of simple structures benefits the comprehension of complex structures and the difficulty in the comprehension of simple structures associates with the difficulty in comprehension of complex structures.

Aphasiology, 2007

Journal of Communication Disorders, 2012

Many adults with aphasia demonstrate concomitant deficits in working memory (WM), but such deficits are difficult to quantify because of a lack of validated measures as well as the complex interdependence between language and WM. We examined the feasibility, reliability, and internal consistency of an n-back task for evaluating WM in aphasia, then explored the influence of domain-general (WM load, reaction time, age) and domain-specific (language) factors. Method: Fourteen adults with aphasia and 12 age-and education-matched controls completed n-back tasks varying in stimulus type (high-frequency, low-frequency, or nonnameable stimuli) and WM load (0-, 1-, and 2-back). Data analyses explored the impact of these variables within and across participants and groups. Results: n-Back scores were collectively reliable across conditions. Both groups performed similarly across stimulus types with significantly greater WM accuracy for nameable versus non-nameable stimuli. Compared to the controls, adults with aphasia were significantly more affected by increasing WM load. RT effects generally paralleled accuracy data, whereas age effects were inconsistent across tasks. Conclusions: These data are consistent with WM deficits in aphasia, for which the n-back task holds promise for clinical quantification. Learning outcomes: Readers will be able to: (a) define working memory, (b) discuss the difficulty inherent in removing language from a complex cognitive task, and (c) describe how the n-back task may contribute to measuring working memory capacity in individuals with aphasia.

Journal of Medical Speech-language Pathology, 2009

There is a lack of standardized aphasia batteries available in the Russian language. The primary aims of the study were to: 1) develop a new aphasia test of auditory comprehension in Russian; 2) describe the psychometric properties of this test by analyzing data collected on a large sample of participants with and without aphasia; 3) identify needs for further validation and standardization of the test; and 4) provide a preliminary evidence base for clinicians and investigators wishing to use this test. A Russian version of the Multiple-Choice Test of Auditory Comprehension (MCTAC) was developed and administered to 103 participants without brain injury and 75 participants with aphasia. All were native speakers of Russian. The MCTAC's brevity of administration, ease of scoring, sensitivity, specificity, inter-and intra-rater reliability, internal consistency, validity, and lack of bias according to age and education support the clinical strength of this test for determining the severity of auditory linguistic comprehension deficits in Russian-speaking adults with aphasia. Strengths and limitations of the test are discussed.

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2005

Aphasiology, 2004

Background: Quantifying the severity of language impairment and measuring change in language performance over time are two important objectives in the assessment of aphasia. The notion of cognitive effort as understood from a resource allocation perspective provides a potentially useful complement to traditional constructs employed in aphasia assessment. Aims: The series of experiments described in this paper used resource allocation theory and dual-task methodology (1) to assess whether a language comprehension task (Story Retell Procedure) and a visual-manual tracking task trade performance under dual-task conditions, and (2) to investigate the potential utility of these methods in clinical assessment of aphasia. In Experiment 1, the validity of a difficulty manipulation of the SRP was investigated. In Experiments 2 and 3, the reliability and validity of the visual-manual tracking task were evaluated. Experiment 4 investigated whether the two tasks trade performance under dualtask conditions. Methods & Procedures: In Experiment 1, 20 normal participants listened to and retold stories presented by a normal speaker and speakers with mild, moderate, and severe aphasia. Participants' comprehension performance was measured by calculating the amount of information retold per unit time. In Experiment 2, root mean square (RMS) tracking error data were collected under fixed joystick displacement conditions. In Experiment 3, 20 normal participants performed single-task tracking across 12 trials at each of three difficulty levels, and performance was evaluated in terms of RMS error. In Experiment 4, three groups of 20 normal individuals performed the tracking task while listening to stories told by the normal speaker and speakers with aphasia. Story retell performance was evaluated between subjects across three tracking difficulty levels and tracking performance was evaluated within subjects across story difficulty (normal, mild, moderate, and severe aphasia). Outcomes & Results: The results of Experiments 1±3 supported the reliability and validity of the difficulty manipulations for the story retell and tracking tasks. In Experiment 4, tracking performance was found to vary significantly across story difficulty, with subjects demonstrating better tracking performance while listening to stories told by a mildly aphasic

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, 2018

Aphasiology, 2013

Background-There are a limited number of aphasia language tests in the majority of the world's commonly spoken languages. Furthermore, few aphasia tests in languages other than English have been standardized and normed, and few have supportive psychometric data pertaining to reliability and validity. The lack of standardized assessment tools across many of the world's languages poses serious challenges to clinical practice and research in aphasia. Aims-The current review addresses this lack of assessment tools by providing conceptual and statistical guidance for the development of aphasia assessment tools and establishment of their psychometric properties. Main Contribution-A list of aphasia tests in the 20 most widely spoken languages is included. The pitfalls of translating an existing test into a new language versus creating a new test are outlined. Factors to consider in determining test content are discussed. Further, a description of test items corresponding to different language functions is provided, with special emphasis on implementing important controls in test design. Next, a broad review of principal psychometric properties relevant to aphasia tests is presented, with specific statistical guidance for establishing psychometric properties of standardized assessment tools. Conclusions-This article may be used to help guide future work on developing, standardizing and validating aphasia language tests. The considerations discussed are also applicable to the development of standardized tests of other cognitive functions.

Seminars in Speech and Language, 2008

Aphasia has traditionally been viewed as a loss or impairment of language. However, evidence is presented suggesting that language mechanisms are fundamentally preserved and that aphasic language behaviors are instead due to impairments of cognitive processes supporting their construction. These processes may be understood as a linguistically specialized attentional system that is vulnerable to competition from other processing domains. We present two models of attention that focus on competition for central processing and discuss findings from dual-task studies of normal and aphasic performance. First, competing language and nonlanguage tasks appear to share limited-capacity, parallel processing resources. Second, aphasic individuals demonstrate slowed central processing that could be due to a reduction in processing capacity or ability to allocate that capacity. Third, the attention models discussed bear a coherent relationship to current models of language processing. Clinical implications of a cognitive processing account of aphasia are also considered.

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 02687038 2014 971098, 2014

Background: Text comprehension entails a complex interaction between cognitive and linguistic factors. In aging, text comprehension depends on text characteristics, particularly semantic load. Persons with residual aphasia may complain of discourse comprehension difficulties without linguistic problems. Three levels of representation are involved in text comprehension (surface level, semantic level constituted by macrostructure and microstructure, and situational level). Attention, verbal working memory, long-term memory, and executive functions combine to allow processing of all levels of representation. Aims: The primary objectives of this multiple case study were (a) to examine microstructure, macrostructure and situational model updating in text comprehension in five participants with left-brain-damage (PWLBD), who continued to complain about problems with discourse comprehension without linguistic problems, and (b) to examine executive function and memory in these participants. Methods and procedure: Five PWLBD were selected for the study. We asked the participants to read and understand three narrative texts. The texts varied according to semantic load (the amount of information). In each text, we assessed macrostructure, microstructure and situational model updating. To evaluate memory and executive functions, we administered specific complementary tasks. Results were compared to normative data obtained from a previous study with a total of 60 neurologically intact control participants, divided into younger (N = 30) and older (N = 30) groups. Outcomes and results: The results for the five PWLBD indicated that text comprehension is influenced by text characteristics, particularly semantic load; the findings demonstrated shortterm memory and cognitive flexibility deficits. Text comprehension in residual aphasia 3 Conclusions: These findings have two major implications. Analysing text comprehension using several texts with varying semantic loads is a promising tool for diagnosing residual aphasia and for designing specific cognitive interventions that target reading comprehension abilities in persons with residual aphasia.