Inference Processes in Adults with Right Brain Damage

描述(申请人提供)：成人右半球脑损伤(RHD)经常导致理解困难。理解的一个特殊方面，推理，已经被认为是这些困难的一个来源，尽管还不清楚推理过程的哪个阶段(S)可能会受到损害。对正常推理过程的研究表明，语境的特征，如推理的新近性和语境偏见的强度，可能会影响这种推理过程。理解能力和工作记忆容量的个体差异也起到了作用。这些因素在风湿性心脏病文献中很少受到关注。拟议项目的长期目标是建立一种推断成人风湿性心脏病缺陷的理论。这些目标与中风患者的健康和福祉有关，因为研究结果将提供对风湿性心脏病沟通障碍的更清楚的了解，并可能提高治疗方法的疗效和效率。其具体目的是：(A)测试关于提及效应的近期效应的相互竞争的假设，以便当预测性推理在远离它们被建议的点被测试时，(B)检查语境偏见对预测性推理的影响，(C)测试特定推理过程与话语理解技能和工作记忆有关的假设，以及(D)探索与推理过程相关的大脑行为关系。为达到这些目标，将进行两项研究。方法：两项研究都将采用逐行阅读时间的任务，使用构建成偏向特定预测性推理的实验故事，其中目标句子不证实预期的推理。在实验条件和控制条件下，目标句的阅读时间减慢将表明预期推理的激活。研究A将通过操纵推论建议时间和测量点之间的距离来解决提及效应的近期效应。目标句和目标后句的阅读时间将为提及效应的新近来源提供证据。在研究B中，将操纵语境偏见的强度，以检验在语境中对特定预测性推理存在弱偏见或强偏见的推理。来自阅读时间研究的数据将与一般语篇理解测试和工作记忆任务的表现相关联 评估推理与这些参与者特征之间的关系。对于这两项研究，研究设计将是混合设计，将组(RHD和非脑损伤)作为受试者之间的变量，故事条件作为受试者内的变量。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Right hemisphere brain damage (RHD) in adults frequently causes comprehension difficulties. One particular aspect of comprehension, inferencing, has been implicated as a source of these difficulties, although it is not clear what stage(s) of the inferencing process could be impaired. Studies of normal inferencing processes suggest that characteristics of contexts, such as recency of mention of inferences and strength of contextual bias, may affect such inferencing processes. Individual differences in comprehension skill and working memory capacity also play a role. These factors have received little attention in the RHD literature. The long-term objective of the proposed project is to build a theory of inferencing deficits in adults with RHD. These objectives are related to the health and well being of stroke patients, as the results of the study will provide a clearer understanding of RHD communication disorders and may improve the efficacy and efficiency of therapy approaches. The specific aims are to: (a) test competing hypotheses regarding recency of mention effects, such that predictive inferences 'disappear' when tested at a point distant from where they were suggested, (b) examine the influence of contextual bias on predictive inferencing, (c) test the assumption that specific inferencing processes are related to discourse comprehension skill and working memory, and (d) explore brain behavior relationships associated with inferencing processes. Two studies will be conducted to address these aims. Methods: Both studies will employ a line-by-line reading time task using experimental stories constructed to bias toward a specific predictive inference, with a target sentence that disconfirms the intended inference. Slowed reading time on the target sentence in experimental versus control conditions will indicate activation of the intended inference. Study A will address recency of mention effects by manipulating the distance between when an inference is suggested and the point of measurement. Reading times for target and post-target sentences will provide evidence for the source of recency of mention effects. In Study B, strength of contextual bias will be manipulated to examine inferencing under contexts will contain either weak or strong bias toward a specific predictive inference. Data from the reading time studies will be correlated with performance on a general discourse comprehension test and a working memory task to evaluate the relationship between inferencing and these participant characteristics. For both studies, the research design will be a mixed design, with group (RHD and non-brain-damaged) as the between-subjects variable and story condition as the within-subjects variable.