Processing distinct linguistic information types in working memory in aphasia

Abstract

Background-Recent investigations have suggested that adults with aphasia present with a working memory deficit that may contribute to their language-processing difficulties. Working memory capacity has been conceptualised as a single "resource" pool for attentional, linguistic, and other executive processing-alternatively, it has been suggested that there may be separate working memory abilities for different types of linguistic information. A challenge in this line of research is developing an appropriate measure of working memory ability in adults with aphasia. One candidate measure of working memory ability that may be appropriate for this population is the n-back task. By manipulating stimulus type, the n-back task may be appropriate for tapping linguistic-specific working memory abilities.

Sentence comprehension disorders in aphasia: The concept of chance performance revisited

“…Possibly, intermittent deficiencies can be induced by increasing task demands, syntactic complexity and/or limitations in working memory (cf. Caspari, Parkinson, LaPointe, & Katz, 1998;Friedmann & Gvion, 2003;Wright, Downey, Gravier, Love, & Shapiro, 2007). This issue, however, is beyond the scope of this paper.…”

Measuring working memory deficits in aphasia

“…Third, it is automated in nature and thus can measure reaction time, which can assist in interpreting subtle cognitive impairments (Crerar, 2004). Finally, it can be used equally well with different stimulus types, such as objects, shapes, or spatial locations (Christensen & Wright, 2010;Wright et al, 2007). This is especially critical for measuring WM in aphasia, given the aforementioned difficulty of removing language from a complex cognitive task: that is, rather than attempting to remove linguistic content, the n-back allows researchers and clinicians to simply vary the complexity of that content and thus attempt to disentangle WM from language, and explore the nature of interactions between language (i.e., stimulus type) and attentional mechanisms (i.e., WM load; cf.…”

Using Visual Scene Displays as Communication Support Options for People with Chronic, Severe Aphasia: A Summary of AAC Research and Future Research Directions

“…The symbolic processing and cognitive resource allocation deficits of people with aphasia make the generation and comprehension of novel utterances difficult (e.g., McNeil, 1983;Murray, 1999;Wright, Downey, Gravier, Love, & Shapiro, 2007). As a result, people with aphasia struggle to formulate messages using symbols that have little implied relation or specific association with one another or with the actions, objects, or ideas they represent.…”