Current methods in treatment of aphasia (Métodos actuales en el tratamiento de la afasia)

Abstract

Aphasia frequently leads to long-term consequences in language and communication. This paper presents an overview of current methods of aphasia treatment, as well as empirical data on their effectiveness and limitations. We surveyed literature by accessing electronic databases of Serbian libraries and by using specialized search engines on the internet. A review of the papers confirmed the existence of numerous methods in the treatment of aphasia today, which we conveniently grouped. The central place in the treatment is occupied by methods aimed at treating specific language disorders and methods specific to the type of aphasia. Methods that are complementary to language-oriented forms of therapy also need to be examined. There is a growing necessity to better define criteria for the implementation of some therapy methods. We feel that more precise definitions and a more unified methodology are needed to evaluate the efficacy of therapy methods and their verification.

Do artificial neural networks dream of understanding sentence comprehension? A preliminary study ( ¿Sueñan las redes neuronales artificiales con entender la comprensión de frases? Un estudio preliminar )

“…In future research, it is recommended to increase the number of participants, to carry out a comparative study and to create programmes that cover a wide range of variables that may influence the teaching-learning process (Baena-Extremera et al, 2021). This knowledge could also be useful to assess the level of reading comprehension on aphasias (Vuković et al, 2022). Finally, it is necessary to reach a medium-term consensus on the ethical criteria that arise from using technology with such predictive capacity (Sánchez et al, 2021).…”

“…En futuras investigaciones, se recomienda aumentar el número de participantes, realizar un estudio comparativo y crear programas que abarquen una amplia gama de variables que puedan influir en el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje (Baena-Extremera et al, 2021). Este conocimiento también podría ser útil para evaluar el nivel de comprensión lectora en afasias (Vuković et al, 2022). Por último, es necesario consensuar a medio plazo los criterios éticos que se derivan del uso de tecnología con tal capacidad predictiva (Sánchez et al, 2021).…”

Advances and challenges in neurorehabilitation for acquired brain damage (Avances y desafíos en neurorrehabilitación del daño cerebral adquirido)

“…Seguidamente, se presentan dos estudios de revisión muy completos sobre el tratamiento de alteraciones del procesamiento lingüístico como consecuencia del daño cerebral. Por una parte, Vuković et al (2022) ejemplifican la variedad existente de métodos de neurorrehabilitación en patologías afásicas, realizando una revisión sobre los métodos más eficaces en la rehabilitación de estos trastornos lingüísticos, según se trate de anomia, déficits sintácticos o agramatismo. Además, se presentan los resultados sobre el uso de metodologías como la terapia de entonación melódica (para casos de afasia de Broca), terapia de restricción inducida, o incluso intervenciones más novedosas en el campo de la estimulación cerebral no invasiva como es el empleo de la estimulación magnética transcraneal repetitiva y la estimulación cortical directa trans-craneal.…”

“…Following this section are two very comprehensive review studies on treating language-processing disorders that are a consequence of brain damage. Subsequently, Vuković et al (2022) outline the existing variety of neurorehabilitation methods in aphasic pathologies, conducting a review on the most effective methods in rehabilitating these linguistic disorders, according to whether they are anomia, syntactic deficits or agrammatism. They also present the result found on the use of methodologies such as melodic intonation therapy (for cases of Broca’s aphasia), induced restriction therapy and newer interventions in the field of non-invasive brain stimulation such as the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct cortical stimulation.…”