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Schevenels K, Michiels L, Lemmens R, De Smedt B, Zink I, Vandermosten M. The role of the hippocampus in statistical learning and language recovery in persons with post stroke aphasia. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 36:103243. [PMID: 36306718 PMCID: PMC9668653 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Although several studies have aimed for accurate predictions of language recovery in post stroke aphasia, individual language outcomes remain hard to predict. Large-scale prediction models are built using data from patients mainly in the chronic phase after stroke, although it is clinically more relevant to consider data from the acute phase. Previous research has mainly focused on deficits, i.e., behavioral deficits or specific brain damage, rather than compensatory mechanisms, i.e., intact cognitive skills or undamaged brain regions. One such unexplored brain region that might support language (re)learning in aphasia is the hippocampus, a region that has commonly been associated with an individual's learning potential, including statistical learning. This refers to a set of mechanisms upon which we rely heavily in daily life to learn a range of regularities across cognitive domains. Against this background, thirty-three patients with aphasia (22 males and 11 females, M = 69.76 years, SD = 10.57 years) were followed for 1 year in the acute (1-2 weeks), subacute (3-6 months) and chronic phase (9-12 months) post stroke. We evaluated the unique predictive value of early structural hippocampal measures for short-term and long-term language outcomes (measured by the ANELT). In addition, we investigated whether statistical learning abilities were intact in patients with aphasia using three different tasks: an auditory-linguistic and visual task based on the computation of transitional probabilities and a visuomotor serial reaction time task. Finally, we examined the association of individuals' statistical learning potential with acute measures of hippocampal gray and white matter. Using Bayesian statistics, we found moderate evidence for the contribution of left hippocampal gray matter in the acute phase to the prediction of long-term language outcomes, over and above information on the lesion and the initial language deficit (measured by the ScreeLing). Non-linguistic statistical learning in patients with aphasia, measured in the subacute phase, was intact at the group level compared to 23 healthy older controls (8 males and 15 females, M = 74.09 years, SD = 6.76 years). Visuomotor statistical learning correlated with acute hippocampal gray and white matter. These findings reveal that particularly left hippocampal gray matter in the acute phase is a potential marker of language recovery after stroke, possibly through its statistical learning ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Schevenels
- Research Group Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 2 (O&N2), Herestraat 49 box 721, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 5 (O&N 5), Herestraat 49 box 1020, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
| | - Laura Michiels
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Research Group Experimental Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49 box 7003, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, Onderwijs en Navorsing 5 (O&N 5), Herestraat 49 box 602, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 5 (O&N 5), Herestraat 49 box 1020, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
| | - Robin Lemmens
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Research Group Experimental Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49 box 7003, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, Onderwijs en Navorsing 5 (O&N 5), Herestraat 49 box 602, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 5 (O&N 5), Herestraat 49 box 1020, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
| | - Bert De Smedt
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU leuven, Leopold Vanderkelenstraat 32 box 3765, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 5 (O&N 5), Herestraat 49 box 1020, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
| | - Inge Zink
- Research Group Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 2 (O&N2), Herestraat 49 box 721, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 5 (O&N 5), Herestraat 49 box 1020, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
| | - Maaike Vandermosten
- Research Group Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 2 (O&N2), Herestraat 49 box 721, Leuven 3000, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Onderwijs en Navorsing 5 (O&N 5), Herestraat 49 box 1020, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
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Does Executive Function Training Impact on Communication? A Randomized Controlled tDCS Study on Post-Stroke Aphasia. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12091265. [PMID: 36139001 PMCID: PMC9497246 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12091265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
New approaches in aphasia rehabilitation have recently identified the crucial role of executive functions (EFs) in language recovery, especially for people with severe aphasia (PWSA). Indeed, EFs include high-order cognitive abilities such as planning and problem solving, which enable humans to adapt to novel situations and are essential for everyday functional communication. In a randomized double-blind crossover design, twenty chronic Italian PWSA underwent ten days of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) (20 min, 2 mA) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Two conditions were considered, i.e., anodal and sham, while performing four types of cognitive training (alertness, selective attention, visuo-spatial working memory, and planning), all of which were related to executive functions. After anodal tDCS, a greater improvement in selective attention, visuospatial working memory and planning abilities was found compared to the sham condition; this improvement persisted one month after the intervention. Importantly, a significant improvement was also observed in functional communication, as measured through the Communication Activities of Daily Living Scale, in noun and verb naming, in auditory and written language comprehension tasks and in executive function abilities. This evidence emphasizes, for the first time, that tDCS over the right DLPFC combined with executive training enhances functional communication in severe aphasia.
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Fan L, Li C, Huang ZG, Zhao J, Wu X, Liu T, Li Y, Wang J. The longitudinal neural dynamics changes of whole brain connectome during natural recovery from poststroke aphasia. NEUROIMAGE: CLINICAL 2022; 36:103190. [PMID: 36174256 PMCID: PMC9668607 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Poststroke aphasia is one of the most dramatic functional deficits that results from direct damage of focal brain regions and dysfunction of large-scale brain networks. The reconstruction of language function depends on the hierarchical whole-brain dynamic reorganization. However, investigations into the longitudinal neural changes of large-scale brain networks for poststroke aphasia remain scarce. Here we characterize large-scale brain dynamics in left-frontal-stroke aphasia through energy landscape analysis. Using fMRI during an auditory comprehension task, we find that aphasia patients suffer serious whole-brain dynamics perturbation in the acute and subacute stages after stroke, in which the brains were restricted into two major activity patterns. Following spontaneous recovery process, the brain flexibility improved in the chronic stage. Critically, we demonstrated that the abnormal neural dynamics are correlated with the aberrant brain network coordination. Taken together, the energy landscape analysis exhibited that the acute poststroke aphasia has a constrained, low dimensional brain dynamics, which were replaced by less constrained and high dimensional dynamics at chronic aphasia. Our study provides a new perspective to profoundly understand the pathological mechanisms of poststroke aphasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liming Fan
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China,National Engineering Research Center of Health Care and Medical Devices. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510500, PR China
| | - Chenxi Li
- Department of the Psychology of Military Medicine, Air Force Medical University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710032, PR China
| | - Zi-gang Huang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China,National Engineering Research Center of Health Care and Medical Devices. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510500, PR China
| | - Jie Zhao
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China,National Engineering Research Center of Health Care and Medical Devices. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510500, PR China
| | - Xiaofeng Wu
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China,National Engineering Research Center of Health Care and Medical Devices. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510500, PR China
| | - Tian Liu
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China,National Engineering Research Center of Health Care and Medical Devices. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510500, PR China
| | - Youjun Li
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China,National Engineering Research Center of Health Care and Medical Devices. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510500, PR China,Corresponding authors at: The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, PR China.
| | - Jue Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China,National Engineering Research Center of Health Care and Medical Devices. Guangzhou, Guangdong 510500, PR China,The Key Laboratory of Neuro-informatics & Rehabilitation Engineering of Ministry of Civil Affairs, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, PR China,Corresponding authors at: The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, and Institute of Biomedical Engineering, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, PR China.
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Schumacher R, Halai AD, Lambon Ralph MA. Assessing executive functions in post-stroke aphasia-utility of verbally based tests. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac107. [PMID: 35602650 PMCID: PMC9118101 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
It is increasingly acknowledged that, often, patients with post-stroke aphasia not only have language impairments but also deficits in other cognitive domains (e.g. executive functions) that influence recovery and response to therapy. Many assessments of executive functions are verbally based and therefore usually not administered in this patient group. However, the performance of patients with aphasia in such tests might provide valuable insights both from a theoretical and clinical perspective. We aimed to elucidate (i) if verbal executive tests measure anything beyond the language impairment in patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia, (ii) how performance in such tests relates to performance in language tests and nonverbal cognitive functions, and (iii) the neural correlates associated with performance in verbal executive tests. In this observational study, three commonly used verbal executive tests were administered to a sample of patients with varying aphasia severity. Their performance in these tests was explored by means of principal component analyses, and the relationships with a broad range of background tests regarding their language and nonverbal cognitive functions were elucidated with correlation analyses. Furthermore, lesion analyses were performed to explore brain-behaviour relationships. In a sample of 32 participants, we found that: (i) a substantial number of patients with aphasia were able to perform the verbal executive tests; (ii) variance in performance was not explained by the severity of an individual's overall language impairment alone but was related to two independent behavioural principal components per test; (iii) not all aspects of performance were related to the patient's language abilities; and (iv) all components were associated with separate neural correlates, some overlapping partly in frontal and parietal regions. Our findings extend our clinical and theoretical understanding of dysfunctions beyond language in patients with aphasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahel Schumacher
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
- Department of Neurology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and University of Bern, 3010 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Ajay D. Halai
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew A. Lambon Ralph
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, 15 Chaucer Road, Cambridge CB2 7EF, United Kingdom
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Wong WSW, Law SP. Relationship Between Cognitive Functions and Multilevel Language Processing: Data From Chinese Speakers With Aphasia and Implications. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2022; 65:1128-1144. [PMID: 35148489 DOI: 10.1044/2021_jslhr-21-00381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study aims to investigate the relationship between nonverbal cognitive functions and language processing of people with aphasia (PWA) by taking a data-driven approach, as well as multiple cognitive components and multilevel linguistic perspectives. It is hypothesized that language performance is differentially associated with cognitive processing of PWA, with executive functions (EFs) playing a stronger role in language tasks with increasing linguistic complexity. METHOD A language battery assessing word comprehension/production, sentence comprehension, and discourse production, together with a series of nonlinguistic cognitive tasks targeting simple/complex attention, short-term/working memory, or EFs, was administered to 53 Cantonese-speaking PWA. Cognitive factors extracted from principal component analysis applied to the cognitive battery served as predictors in four multiple regression analyses to predict PWA's performance at various linguistic levels. RESULTS Two cognitive factors, representing (a) simple attention and memory and (b) EF, were extracted. The former predicted performance in word processing tasks, whereas EF significantly predicted performance in all language tasks with increasing contribution as a function of linguistic complexity. CONCLUSION The results based on Chinese PWA provide comprehensive evidence for the view that language performance is the end product of interaction between linguistic and nonlinguistic functions and have clear implications for clinical management of PWA.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sam Po Law
- Faculty of Education, The Unversity of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR
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Vuković M, Milovanović T, Jerkić L. Current methods in treatment of aphasia (Métodos actuales en el tratamiento de la afasia). STUDIES IN PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/02109395.2021.2015225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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Chen Q, Shen W, Sun H, Shen D, Cai X, Ke J, Zhang L, Fang Q. Effects of mirror therapy on motor aphasia after acute cerebral infarction: A randomized controlled trial. NeuroRehabilitation 2021; 49:103-117. [PMID: 34180428 DOI: 10.3233/nre-210125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mirror therapy (MT) has proven to be beneficial for treating patients suffering from motor aphasia after stroke. However, the impacts of MT on neuroplasticity remain unexplored. OBJECTIVE In this paper we conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the treatment using the MT on motor aphasia following acute cerebral infarction. METHODS We randomly assigned 30 patients into test and control groups, with test group patients treated with MT, whereas control group patients were treated with sham MT. At 24 hours prior to and after the intervention, we obtained functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from study subjects. At baseline, after treatment and 12-week follow-up, we additionally evaluated patients with the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS), the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), and the aphasia quotient (AQ) in the western aphasia test. RESULTS After 2 weeks of treatment, the test group demonstrated significant improvements in AQ values, naming, repetition, spontaneous speech, and mRS scores compared to the control group (P < 0.05). Furthermore, in the follow-up time point (12 weeks), we found that the test group exhibited significantly better NIHSS scores and AQ evaluation indicators than the control group (P < 0.05). Specifically, the fMRI study shows that functional connectivity significantly improved in test group patients mainly among frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes of the left hemisphere with each other than controls group. Meanwhile, we found significantly enhanced functional connectivity with the hippocampus (P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Our results indicate that the MT can expedite the recovery of language function during the early phases of stroke recovery. These findings may elucidate the underlying mechanism of MT and the application of this therapy as an adjunct rehabilitation technique in language recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingmei Chen
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.,Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Wenjun Shen
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Haiwei Sun
- Department of Emergency Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Dan Shen
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Xiuying Cai
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jun Ke
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Lichi Zhang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qi Fang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
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Schevenels K, Price CJ, Zink I, De Smedt B, Vandermosten M. A Review on Treatment-Related Brain Changes in Aphasia. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2020; 1:402-433. [PMID: 37215585 PMCID: PMC10158631 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Numerous studies have investigated brain changes associated with interventions targeting a range of language problems in patients with aphasia. We strive to integrate the results of these studies to examine (1) whether the focus of the intervention (i.e., phonology, semantics, orthography, syntax, or rhythmic-melodic) determines in which brain regions changes occur; and (2a) whether the most consistent changes occur within the language network or outside, and (2b) whether these are related to individual differences in language outcomes. The results of 32 studies with 204 unique patients were considered. Concerning (1), the location of treatment-related changes does not clearly depend on the type of language processing targeted. However, there is some support that rhythmic-melodic training has more impact on the right hemisphere than linguistic training. Concerning (2), we observed that language recovery is not only associated with changes in traditional language-related structures in the left hemisphere and homolog regions in the right hemisphere, but also with more medial and subcortical changes (e.g., precuneus and basal ganglia). Although it is difficult to draw strong conclusions, because there is a lack of systematic large-scale studies on this topic, this review highlights the need for an integrated approach to investigate how language interventions impact on the brain. Future studies need to focus on larger samples preserving subject-specific information (e.g., lesion effects) to cope with the inherent heterogeneity of stroke-induced aphasia. In addition, recovery-related changes in whole-brain connectivity patterns need more investigation to provide a comprehensive neural account of treatment-related brain plasticity and language recovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Schevenels
- Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Cathy J. Price
- Welcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK
| | - Inge Zink
- Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bert De Smedt
- Parenting and Special Education Research Unit, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Maaike Vandermosten
- Experimental Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Martins MJD, Krause C, Neville DA, Pino D, Villringer A, Obrig H. Recursive hierarchical embedding in vision is impaired by posterior middle temporal gyrus lesions. Brain 2020; 142:3217-3229. [PMID: 31560064 PMCID: PMC6763734 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 06/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The generation of hierarchical structures is central to language, music and complex action. Understanding this capacity and its potential impairments requires mapping its underlying cognitive processes to the respective neuronal underpinnings. In language, left inferior frontal gyrus and left posterior temporal cortex (superior temporal sulcus/middle temporal gyrus) are considered hubs for syntactic processing. However, it is unclear whether these regions support computations specific to language or more generally support analyses of hierarchical structure. Here, we address this issue by investigating hierarchical processing in a non-linguistic task. We test the ability to represent recursive hierarchical embedding in the visual domain by contrasting a recursion task with an iteration task. The recursion task requires participants to correctly identify continuations of a hierarchy generating procedure, while the iteration task applies a serial procedure that does not generate new hierarchical levels. In a lesion-based approach, we asked 44 patients with left hemispheric chronic brain lesion to perform recursion and iteration tasks. We modelled accuracies and response times with a drift diffusion model and for each participant obtained parametric estimates for the velocity of information accumulation (drift rates) and for the amount of information accumulated before a decision (boundary separation). We then used these estimates in lesion-behaviour analyses to investigate how brain lesions affect specific aspects of recursive hierarchical embedding. We found that lesions in the posterior temporal cortex decreased drift rate in recursive hierarchical embedding, suggesting an impaired process of rule extraction from recursive structures. Moreover, lesions in inferior temporal gyrus decreased boundary separation. The latter finding does not survive conservative correction but suggests a shift in the decision criterion. As patients also participated in a grammar comprehension experiment, we performed explorative correlation-analyses and found that visual and linguistic recursive hierarchical embedding accuracies are correlated when the latter is instantiated as sentences with two nested embedding levels. While the roles of the inferior temporal gyrus and posterior temporal cortex in linguistic processes are well established, here we show that posterior temporal cortex lesions slow information accumulation (drift rate) in the visual domain. This suggests that posterior temporal cortex is essential to acquire the (knowledge) representations necessary to parse recursive hierarchical embedding in visual structures, a finding mimicking language acquisition in young children. On the contrary, inferior frontal gyrus lesions seem to affect recursive hierarchical embedding processing by interfering with more general cognitive control (boundary separation). This interesting separation of roles, rooted on a domain-general taxonomy, raises the question of whether such cognitive framing is also applicable to other domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio J D Martins
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Carina Krause
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.,Erziehungswissenschaftliche Fakultät Pädagogik im Förderschwerpunkt Sprache und Kommunikation, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - David A Neville
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Daniele Pino
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Arno Villringer
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Hellmuth Obrig
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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Vasenina E, Levin O. Speech disorders and anxiety: interaction mechanisms and therapy potential. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 2020; 120:136-144. [DOI: 10.17116/jnevro2020120041136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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11
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Pestalozzi MI, Di Pietro M, Martins Gaytanidis C, Spierer L, Schnider A, Chouiter L, Colombo F, Annoni JM, Jost LB. Effects of Prefrontal Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Lexical Access in Chronic Poststroke Aphasia. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2018; 32:913-923. [DOI: 10.1177/1545968318801551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Background. A successful interplay between prefrontal and domain-specific language areas is critical for language processing. Previous studies involving people with aphasia have shown that executive control processes might act on lexical-semantic representations during retrieval. Modulating the prefrontal control network by means of noninvasive brain stimulation might, therefore, improve lexical access in people with aphasia. Objective. The present study investigates the effects of prefrontal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on lexical access in chronic poststroke aphasia. Methods. We report data of 14 participants with chronic poststroke aphasia. We used a sham-tDCS (S-tDCS) controlled and double-blind within-subjects design. Performances in picture naming, verbal fluency, and word repetition were assessed immediately after stimulation. Results. As compared with S-tDCS, anodal tDCS (A-tDCS) improved verbal fluency as well as the speed of naming high frequency words, but not word repetition. Conclusion. The results of our study suggest that the brain network dedicated to lexical retrieval processing can be facilitated by A-tDCS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This finding supports the notion that strengthening executive control functions after stroke could complement speech and language-focused therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Lea B. Jost
- University of Fribourg, Switzerland
- Fribourg Hospital, Switzerland
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12
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Tochadse M, Halai AD, Lambon Ralph MA, Abel S. Unification of behavioural, computational and neural accounts of word production errors in post-stroke aphasia. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2018; 18:952-962. [PMID: 29876280 PMCID: PMC5988441 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2017] [Revised: 03/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Neuropsychological assessment, brain imaging and computational modelling have augmented our understanding of the multifaceted functional deficits in people with language disorders after stroke. Despite the volume of research using each technique, no studies have attempted to assimilate all three approaches in order to generate a unified behavioural-computational-neural model of post-stroke aphasia. The present study included data from 53 participants with chronic post-stroke aphasia and merged: aphasiological profiles based on a detailed neuropsychological assessment battery which was analysed with principal component and correlational analyses; measures of the impairment taken from Dell's computational model of word production; and the neural correlates of both behavioural and computational accounts analysed by voxel-based correlational methodology. As a result, all three strands coincide with the separation of semantic and phonological stages of aphasic naming, revealing the prominence of these dimensions for the explanation of aphasic performance. Over and above three previously described principal components (phonological ability, semantic ability, executive-demand), we observed auditory working memory as a novel factor. While the phonological Dell parameter was uniquely related to phonological errors/factor, the semantic parameter was less clear-cut, being related to both semantic errors and omissions, and loading heavily with semantic ability and auditory working memory factors. The close relationship between the semantic Dell parameter and omission errors recurred in their high lesion-correlate overlap in the anterior middle temporal gyrus. In addition, the simultaneous overlap of the lesion correlate of omission errors with more dorsal temporal regions, associated with the phonological parameter, highlights the multiple drivers that underpin this error type. The novel auditory working memory factor was located along left superior/middle temporal gyrus and ventral inferior parietal lobe. The present study fused computational, behavioural and neural data to gain comprehensive insights into the nature of the multifaceted presentations in aphasia. Our unified account contributes enhanced knowledge on dimensions explaining chronic post-stroke aphasia, the variety of factors affecting inter-individual variability, the neural basis of performance, and potential clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija Tochadse
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, University of Manchester, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Philipps University of Marburg, Germany
| | - Ajay D Halai
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
| | | | - Stefanie Abel
- Neuroscience and Aphasia Research Unit, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.
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Minkina I, Martin N, Spencer KA, Kendall DL. Links Between Short-Term Memory and Word Retrieval in Aphasia. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2018; 27:379-391. [PMID: 29497750 PMCID: PMC6111490 DOI: 10.1044/2017_ajslp-16-0194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2016] [Revised: 03/09/2017] [Accepted: 03/30/2017] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study explored the relationship between anomia and verbal short-term memory (STM) in the context of an interactive activation language processing model. METHOD Twenty-four individuals with aphasia and reduced STM spans (i.e., impaired immediate serial recall of words) completed a picture-naming task and a word pair repetition task (a measure of verbal STM). Correlations between verbal STM and word retrieval errors made on the picture-naming task were examined. RESULTS A significant positive correlation between naming accuracy and verbal span length was found. More intricate verbal STM analyses examined the relationship between picture-naming error types (i.e., semantic vs. phonological) and 2 measures of verbal STM: (a) location of errors on the word pair repetition task and (b) imageability and frequency effects on the word pair repetition task. Results indicated that, as phonological word retrieval errors (relative to semantic) increase, bias toward correct repetition of high-imageability words increases. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that word retrieval and verbal STM tasks likely rely on a partially shared temporary linguistic activation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Minkina
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Nadine Martin
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
| | - Kristie A. Spencer
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Diane L. Kendall
- Veterans Affairs Medical Center Puget Sound, University of Washington, Seattle
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
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Minkina I, Rosenberg S, Kalinyak-Fliszar M, Martin N. Short-Term Memory and Aphasia: From Theory to Treatment. Semin Speech Lang 2017; 38:17-28. [PMID: 28201834 PMCID: PMC5773285 DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1597261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
This article reviews existing research on the interactions between verbal short-term memory and language processing impairments in aphasia. Theoretical models of short-term memory are reviewed, starting with a model assuming a separation between short-term memory and language, and progressing to models that view verbal short-term memory as a cognitive requirement of language processing. The review highlights a verbal short-term memory model derived from an interactive activation model of word retrieval. This model holds that verbal short-term memory encompasses the temporary activation of linguistic knowledge (e.g., semantic, lexical, and phonological features) during language production and comprehension tasks. Empirical evidence supporting this model, which views short-term memory in the context of the processes it subserves, is outlined. Studies that use a classic measure of verbal short-term memory (i.e., number of words/digits correctly recalled in immediate serial recall) as well as those that use more intricate measures (e.g., serial position effects in immediate serial recall) are discussed. Treatment research that uses verbal short-term memory tasks in an attempt to improve language processing is then summarized, with a particular focus on word retrieval. A discussion of the limitations of current research and possible future directions concludes the review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Minkina
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Samantha Rosenberg
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Nadine Martin
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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