Effects of Argument Structure & Processing Load on Sentence Processing in Aphasia

论证结构的影响

• 批准号: 8205680
• 负责人: Nadine Martin
• 金额: $ 22.95万
• 依托单位: TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-07-12 至 2013-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8205680
• 关键词: Acquired Aphasia; Address; Affect; Agrammatism; Aphasia; Augmentative and Alternative Communication device; Behavioral; Chronic; Clinical; Communication; Communication Aids for Disabled; Comprehension; Disease; Elements; Feedback; Impaired cognition; Impairment; Language; Learning; Memory impairment; Methods; Nature; Outcome; Outcome Study; Performance; Persons; Population; Probability; Procedures; Process; Production; Quality of life; Recording of previous events; Records; Recovery; Rehabilitation Research; Reliance; Research; Residual state; Semantics; Series; Severities; Short-Term Memory; Stimulus; Stroke; Structure; Surface; Testing; Time; Visual; base; boys; clinical practice; cooking; disability; efficacy testing; improved; language processing; nervous system disorder; particle; phonology; phrases; programs; semantic processing; syntax; theories; treatment effect

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Acquired aphasia is a lifelong disability that affects functional communication and consequently, quality of life. We will test the efficacy of a treatment to improve sentence production impairment in nonfluent, agrammatic aphasia, which is characterized by a reliance on content words, paucity of function words, and use of simpler sentence structures. The impairment has been attributed in part to reduced processing capacity which makes it difficult to access syntactic structure during sentence production or comprehension. The treatment method is based on syntactic (or structural) priming, which uses repetition of a sentence with a particular syntactic structure (e.g., passive transitive) to facilitate access to that same structure in subsequent picture description trials that could be described with that same structure. Residual activation of the priming sentence makes it more accessible for a short period, and thereby increases the probability of its being retrieved to describe a pictured scene. This treatment approach can be used regardless of the severity of the sentence production impairment. This is especially noteworthy because there are few treatments for more severe agrammatic aphasia. In this project, we will examine several ways to enhance syntactic priming effects on sentence production in persons with agrammatic aphasia, further increasing its value as a treatment method for this population. First, we will vary semantic and syntactic argument structure of the treatment stimuli in ways that reduce the number of semantic elements to be syntactically encoded but without altering the surface form of the sentence. In Study 1, we aim to show that verb-particle sentences with three semantic elements (The driver is turning off the lights) show more robust priming effects than sentences with prepositional phrases and four semantic elements (The driver is turning off the road). In Study 2, the coherence of verb-object phrases in transitive will be varied to show that transitive with more coherent verb- object phrases (mowing the lawn) show more robust priming effects than those with less coherent verb-object phrases (cooking the soup). We will test the related hypothesis that transitive with coherent verb-object phrases are more effective primes of those without coherent verb-object phrases than vice versa because they are more likely to result in successful production of the priming sentence. In Study 3, we will manipulate the priming procedure using an augmentative communication (AAC) device that allows more time to explicitly process the priming sentence. Potential outcomes of these studies will inform theories of the relationship of short-term memory and sentence processing, providing evidence that agrammatic sentence production is related to reduced processing capacity. They will provide additional evidence that syntactic priming engages implicit learning processes and that the addition of explicit learning procedures enhances the effect. Clinically, these studies will provide evidence that syntactic priming treatments effectively improve sentence production in agrammatic aphasia, even in more severe cases when production is limited to 1-3 word utterances. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Acquired aphasia following stroke or other neurological disease is a lifelong disability that affects functional communication and quality of life. This research program is intended to test the efficacy of a treatment for sentence processing disorders in nonfluent, agrammatic aphasia using an approach that is applicable to mild as well as severe impairments. The outcomes should improve our understanding of the nature of sentence processing deficits in aphasia and methods to improve language function.

描述(申请人提供)：获得性失语症是一种终生残疾，会影响功能性沟通，从而影响生活质量。我们将测试一种治疗方法的有效性，以改善不流利的失语症的句子产生障碍，其特征是依赖实词，缺乏虚词，使用更简单的句子结构。这种障碍部分归因于处理能力的降低，这使得在句子产生或理解过程中很难接触到句法结构。该处理方法基于句法(或结构)启动，该句法(或结构)启动使用具有特定句法结构(例如，被动及物)的句子的重复，以便于在可以用该相同结构描述的后续图片描述试验中访问该相同结构。启动句的剩余激活使其在短时间内更容易被访问，从而增加了其被检索以描述所描绘的场景的概率。无论句子产生障碍的严重程度如何，这种治疗方法都可以使用。这一点尤其值得注意，因为很少有治疗更严重的失语症的方法。在这个项目中，我们将研究几种方法来增强句法启动对失语症患者句子产生的影响，进一步增加句法启动作为这一人群治疗方法的价值。首先，我们将改变治疗刺激的语义和句法论元结构，减少要进行句法编码的语义元素的数量，但不改变句子的表层形式。在研究一中，我们的目的是要证明，具有三个语义成分的动宾句(司机正在关灯)比含有介词短语和四个语义成分的句子(司机正在关闭道路)表现出更强的启动效应。在研究2中，及物动宾语短语的连贯性将有所不同，以表明动宾语短语连贯程度较高的及物性短语(修剪草坪)比动宾语短语连贯程度较低的动宾语短语(烹调汤)表现出更强的启动效应。我们将检验相关假设，即有连贯的动宾短语的及物性短语比没有连贯的动宾短语的及物性短语更有效的启动，因为它们更有可能导致启动句的成功产生。在研究3中，我们将使用增强沟通(AAC)装置来操纵启动程序，以便有更多的时间来明确地处理启动句子。这些研究的潜在结果将为短期记忆和句子加工的关系理论提供信息，提供证据表明无语法句子的产生与加工能力降低有关。他们将提供更多的证据，证明句法启动参与了内隐学习过程，并且外显学习过程的增加增强了这种效果。临床上，这些研究将提供证据表明，句法启动治疗有效地改善了失语症患者的句子产出，即使在更严重的情况下，当产出被限制在1-3个单词话语时也是如此。 公共卫生相关性：中风或其他神经系统疾病后的获得性失语是一种终生残疾，影响功能沟通和生活质量。这项研究计划旨在测试一种治疗不流利、失语症句子加工障碍的方法的有效性，该方法适用于轻度和严重的损伤。研究结果将有助于我们更好地理解失语症句子加工缺陷的本质以及改善语言功能的方法。