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Xiao X, Ding J, Yu M, Dong Z, Cruz S, Ding N, Aubinet C, Laureys S, Di H, Chen Y. Exploring the Clinical Diagnostic Value of Linguistic Learning Ability in Patients with Disorders of Consciousness Using Electrooculography. Neuroimage 2024:120753. [PMID: 39053636 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
For patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC), accurate assessment of residual consciousness levels and cognitive abilities is critical for developing appropriate rehabilitation interventions. In this study, we investigated the potential of electrooculography (EOG) in assessing language processing abilities and consciousness levels. Patients' EOG data and related electrophysiological data were analysed before and after explicit language learning. The results showed distinct differences in vocabulary learning patterns among patients with varying levels of consciousness. While minimally conscious patients showed significant neural tracking of artificial words and notable learning effects similar to those observed in healthy controls, whereas patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome did not show such effects. Correlation analysis further indicated that EOG detected vocabulary learning effects with comparable validity to electroencephalography, reinforcing the credibility of EOG indicator as a diagnostic tool. Critically, EOG also revealed significant correlations between individual patients' linguistic learning performance and their Oromotor/verbal function as assessed through behavioural scales. In conclusion, this study explored the differences in language processing abilities among patients with varying consciousness levels. By demonstrating the utility of EOG in evaluating consciousness and detecting vocabulary learning effects, as well as its potential to guide personalised rehabilitation, our findings indicate that EOG indicators show promise as a rapid, accurate and effective additional tool for diagnosing and managing patients with DoC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyue Xiao
- International Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome and Consciousness Science Institute, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Key Laboratory of Ageing and Cancer Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Junhua Ding
- Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9YL, UK
| | - Mingyan Yu
- International Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome and Consciousness Science Institute, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Key Laboratory of Ageing and Cancer Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Zhicai Dong
- International Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome and Consciousness Science Institute, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Key Laboratory of Ageing and Cancer Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Sara Cruz
- The Psychology for Development Research Centre, Lusiada University Porto, Porto 4100-348, Portugal
| | - Nai Ding
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Charlène Aubinet
- Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness & Centre du Cerveau, University and University Hospital of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium; Psychology & Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium
| | - Steven Laureys
- Coma Science Group, GIGA Consciousness & Centre du Cerveau, University and University Hospital of Liège, Liège 4000, Belgium
| | - Haibo Di
- International Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome and Consciousness Science Institute, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Key Laboratory of Ageing and Cancer Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China.
| | - Yan Chen
- International Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome and Consciousness Science Institute, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China; Key Laboratory of Ageing and Cancer Biology of Zhejiang Province, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 311121, China.
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Navarrete-Orejudo L, Cerda-Company X, Olivé G, Martin N, Laine M, Rodríguez-Fornells A, Peñaloza C. Expressive recall and recognition as complementary measures to assess novel word learning ability in aphasia. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2023; 243:105303. [PMID: 37453400 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2023.105303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Novel word learning ability has been associated with language treatment outcomes in people with aphasia (PWA), and its assessment could inform prognosis and rehabilitation. We used a brief experimental task to examine novel word learning in PWA, determine the value of phonological cueing in assessing learning outcomes, and identify factors that modulate learning ability. Twelve PWA and nineteen healthy controls completed the task, and recall and recognition tests of learning ability. Most PWA showed comparable learning outcomes to those of the healthy controls. Learning assessed via expressive recall was more clearly evidenced with phonological cues. Better single word processing abilities and phonological short-term memory and higher integrity of the left inferior frontal gyrus were related to better learning performance. Brief learning tasks like this one are clinically feasible and hold promise as screening tools of verbal learning in PWA once validated and evaluated for their capacity to predict treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lara Navarrete-Orejudo
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Xim Cerda-Company
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Feixa Llarga, s/n, 08097 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain
| | - Guillem Olivé
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Feixa Llarga, s/n, 08097 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain
| | - Nadine Martin
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Eleanor M. Saffran Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Temple University, 1701 N. 13th Street, Philadephia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Matti Laine
- Department of Psychology, Abo Akademi University, Tehtaankatu 2, 20500 Turku, Finland
| | - Antoni Rodríguez-Fornells
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Feixa Llarga, s/n, 08097 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Passeig Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Claudia Peñaloza
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain; Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), Feixa Llarga, s/n, 08097 L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain; Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Passeig de la Vall d'Hebron, 171, 08035 Barcelona, Spain.
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MacGregor LJ, Gilbert RA, Balewski Z, Mitchell DJ, Erzinçlioğlu SW, Rodd JM, Duncan J, Fedorenko E, Davis MH. Causal Contributions of the Domain-General (Multiple Demand) and the Language-Selective Brain Networks to Perceptual and Semantic Challenges in Speech Comprehension. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2022; 3:665-698. [PMID: 36742011 PMCID: PMC9893226 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Listening to spoken language engages domain-general multiple demand (MD; frontoparietal) regions of the human brain, in addition to domain-selective (frontotemporal) language regions, particularly when comprehension is challenging. However, there is limited evidence that the MD network makes a functional contribution to core aspects of understanding language. In a behavioural study of volunteers (n = 19) with chronic brain lesions, but without aphasia, we assessed the causal role of these networks in perceiving, comprehending, and adapting to spoken sentences made more challenging by acoustic-degradation or lexico-semantic ambiguity. We measured perception of and adaptation to acoustically degraded (noise-vocoded) sentences with a word report task before and after training. Participants with greater damage to MD but not language regions required more vocoder channels to achieve 50% word report, indicating impaired perception. Perception improved following training, reflecting adaptation to acoustic degradation, but adaptation was unrelated to lesion location or extent. Comprehension of spoken sentences with semantically ambiguous words was measured with a sentence coherence judgement task. Accuracy was high and unaffected by lesion location or extent. Adaptation to semantic ambiguity was measured in a subsequent word association task, which showed that availability of lower-frequency meanings of ambiguous words increased following their comprehension (word-meaning priming). Word-meaning priming was reduced for participants with greater damage to language but not MD regions. Language and MD networks make dissociable contributions to challenging speech comprehension: Using recent experience to update word meaning preferences depends on language-selective regions, whereas the domain-general MD network plays a causal role in reporting words from degraded speech.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy J. MacGregor
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Rebecca A. Gilbert
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Zuzanna Balewski
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
| | - Daniel J. Mitchell
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Jennifer M. Rodd
- Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - John Duncan
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Evelina Fedorenko
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
- Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
| | - Matthew H. Davis
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Language learning in aphasia: A narrative review and critical analysis of the literature with implications for language therapy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 141:104825. [PMID: 35963544 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
People with aphasia (PWA) present with language deficits including word retrieval difficulties after brain damage. Language learning is an essential life-long human capacity that may support treatment-induced language recovery after brain insult. This prospect has motivated a growing interest in the study of language learning in PWA during the last few decades. Here, we critically review the current literature on language learning ability in aphasia. The existing studies in this area indicate that (i) language learning can remain functional in some PWA, (ii) inter-individual variability in learning performance is large in PWA, (iii) language processing, short-term memory and lesion site are associated with learning ability, (iv) preliminary evidence suggests a relationship between learning ability and treatment outcomes in this population. Based on the reviewed evidence, we propose a potential account for the interplay between language and memory/learning systems to explain spared/impaired language learning and its relationship to language therapy in PWA. Finally, we indicate potential avenues for future research that may promote more cross-talk between cognitive neuroscience and aphasia rehabilitation.
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Coran M, Rodriguez-Fornells A, Ramos-Escobar N, Laine M, Martin N. WORD LEARNING IN APHASIA: TREATMENT IMPLICATIONS AND STRUCTURAL CONNECTIVITY ANALYSES. TOPICS IN LANGUAGE DISORDERS 2020; 40:81-109. [PMID: 33442075 PMCID: PMC7802821 DOI: 10.1097/tld.0000000000000204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Of current interest in aphasia research is the relevance of what we can learn from studying word learning ability in aphasia. In a preliminary study, we addressed two issues related to the novel word learning ability of individuals with aphasia. First, as word learning engages large-scale cognitive-linguistic systems (language skills, verbal short-term memory (STM), other memory and executive functions), we probed whether novel word learning practice in three people with aphasia could stimulate these language-related systems. Second, as lesion correlates affecting word learning in aphasia remain unclear, we examined whether the structural integrity of the left arcuate fasciculus (AF) in the same three individuals is related to outcomes of novel word learning practice. METHOD To stimulate word learning systems, our three participants practiced for 4 weeks with an explicit novel word - novel referent word learning task, adopted from the Ancient Farming Equipment learning paradigm (Laine & Salmelin, 2010). The participants' progress on receptive and expressive novel word learning was followed up, and their language and verbal STM abilities as well as single-session novel word learning (Learning to Name Aliens by Gupta, Martin, Abbs, Schwartz & Lipinski, 2006) were tested before and after the practice period. To address the second question, we analyzed the participants' structural MRI scans with respect to the integrity of the left AF and its overlap with the lesion areas. RESULTS All participants showed some receptive word learning in the trained task, as well as improvements in verbal STM span at posttest. Two of the three participants also showed improved performance on some of the language outcome measures. One participant with partially spared left AF, especially temporo-parietal connections, exhibited better word learning performance than the other two who had larger damage and disconnection of the AF. CONCLUSIONS While the present results are preliminary, they open the possibility that novel word learning practice in aphasia may stimulate remaining word learning mechanisms in aphasia, and thereby influence language and verbal STM abilities. These results also suggest that preservation of novel word learning ability in aphasia in part depends on the integrity of the left arcuate track.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Antoni Rodriguez-Fornells
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
- Institució catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Neus Ramos-Escobar
- Department of Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology, University of Barcelona, 08035 Barcelona, Spain
- Cognition and Brain Plasticity Unit, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Matti Laine
- Institució catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
- Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
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Zimmerman RM, Silkes JP, Kendall DL, Minkina I. The Link Between Verbal Short-Term Memory and Anomia Treatment Gains. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2019; 28:1039-1052. [PMID: 31112652 DOI: 10.1044/2019_ajslp-18-0176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Purpose A significant relationship between verbal short-term memory (STM) and language performance in people with aphasia has been found across studies. However, very few studies have examined the predictive value of verbal STM in treatment outcomes. This study aims to determine if verbal STM can be used as a predictor of treatment success. Method Retrospective data from 25 people with aphasia in a larger randomized controlled trial of phonomotor treatment were analyzed. Digit and word spans from immediately pretreatment were run in multiple linear regression models to determine whether they predict magnitude of change from pre- to posttreatment and follow-up naming accuracy. Pretreatment, immediately posttreatment, and 3 months posttreatment digit and word span scores were compared to determine if they changed following a novel treatment approach. Results Verbal STM, as measured by digit and word spans, did not predict magnitude of change in naming accuracy from pre- to posttreatment nor from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment. Furthermore, digit and word spans did not change from pre- to posttreatment or from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment in the overall analysis. A post hoc analysis revealed that only the less impaired group showed significant changes in word span scores from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment. Discussion The results suggest that digit and word spans do not predict treatment gains. In a less severe subsample of participants, digit and word span scores can change following phonomotor treatment; however, the overall results suggest that span scores may not change significantly. The implications of these findings are discussed within the broader purview of theoretical and empirical associations between aphasic language and verbal STM processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reva M Zimmerman
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
| | | | - Diane L Kendall
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle
- Rehabilitation Research and Development Service, VA Puget Sound DVA Medical Center, Seattle, WA
- University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Irene Minkina
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
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Harnish SM, Rodriguez AD, Blackett DS, Gregory C, Seeds L, Boatright JH, Crosson B. Aerobic Exercise as an Adjuvant to Aphasia Therapy: Theory, Preliminary Findings, and Future Directions. Clin Ther 2017; 40:35-48.e6. [PMID: 29277374 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2017.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2017] [Revised: 12/05/2017] [Accepted: 12/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study investigated whether participation in aerobic exercise enhances the effects of aphasia therapy, and the degree to which basal serum brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) concentrations fluctuate after the beginning of aerobic exercise or stretching activities in individuals with poststroke aphasia. METHODS The study used a single-subject, multiple-baseline design. Seven individuals with chronic poststroke aphasia participated in 2 Blocks of aphasia therapy: aphasia therapy alone (Block 1), followed by aphasia therapy with the addition of aerobic activity via bicycle ergometer (n = 5) or stretching (n = 2) (Block 2). Serum BDNF concentrations from blood draws were analyzed in 4 participants who exercised and in 1 participant who stretched. FINDINGS Three of the five exercise participants demonstrated larger Tau-U effects when aphasia therapy was paired with aerobic exercise, whereas 1 of the 2 stretching participants demonstrated a larger effect size when aphasia therapy was paired with stretching. Group-level comparisons revealed a greater overall increase in effect size in the aerobic exercise group, as indicated by differences in Tau-U weighted means. BDNF data showed that all 4 exercise participants demonstrated a decrease in BDNF concentrations during the first 6 weeks of exercise and an increase in BDNF levels near or at baseline during the last 6 weeks of exercise. The stretching participant did not show the same pattern. IMPLICATIONS Additional research is needed to understand the mechanism of effect and to identify the factors that mediate response to exercise interventions, specifically the optimal dose of exercise and timing of language intervention with exercise. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01113879.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacy M Harnish
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
| | - Amy D Rodriguez
- Atlanta VA RR&D Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Atlanta, Georgia
| | | | - Christopher Gregory
- Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Lauren Seeds
- Department of Physical Therapy, Brooks Rehabilitation, Jacksonville, Florida
| | - Jeffrey H Boatright
- Atlanta VA RR&D Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Atlanta, Georgia; Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Bruce Crosson
- Atlanta VA RR&D Center for Visual and Neurocognitive Rehabilitation, Atlanta, Georgia; Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
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The relationship between novel word learning and anomia treatment success in adults with chronic aphasia. Neuropsychologia 2016; 81:186-197. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2015] [Revised: 11/04/2015] [Accepted: 12/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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