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Angelopoulou G, Kasselimis D, Varkanitsa M, Tsolakopoulos D, Papageorgiou G, Velonakis G, Meier E, Karavassilis E, Pantoleon V, Laskaris N, Kelekis N, Tountopoulou A, Vassilopoulou S, Goutsos D, Kiran S, Weiller C, Rijntjes M, Potagas C. Investigating silent pauses in connected speech: integrating linguistic, neuropsychological, and neuroanatomical perspectives across narrative tasks in post-stroke aphasia. Front Neurol 2024; 15:1347514. [PMID: 38682034 PMCID: PMC11047180 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1347514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Silent pauses are regarded as integral components of the temporal organization of speech. However, it has also been hypothesized that they serve as markers for internal cognitive processes, including word access, monitoring, planning, and memory functions. Although existing evidence across various pathological populations underscores the importance of investigating silent pauses' characteristics, particularly in terms of frequency and duration, there is a scarcity of data within the domain of post-stroke aphasia. Methods The primary objective of the present study is to scrutinize the frequency and duration of silent pauses in two distinct narrative tasks within a cohort of 32 patients with chronic post-stroke aphasia, in comparison with a control group of healthy speakers. Subsequently, we investigate potential correlation patterns between silent pause measures, i.e., frequency and duration, across the two narrative tasks within the patient group, their performance in neuropsychological assessments, and lesion data. Results Our findings showed that patients exhibited a higher frequency of longer-duration pauses in both narrative tasks compared to healthy speakers. Furthermore, within-group comparisons revealed that patients tended to pause more frequently and for longer durations in the picture description task, while healthy participants exhibited the opposite trend. With regard to our second research question, a marginally significant interaction emerged between performance in semantic verbal fluency and the narrative task, in relation to the location of silent pauses-whether between or within clauses-predicting the duration of silent pauses in the patient group. However, no significant results were observed for the frequency of silent pauses. Lastly, our study identified that the duration of silent pauses could be predicted by distinct Regions of Interest (ROIs) in spared tissue within the left hemisphere, as a function of the narrative task. Discussion Overall, this study follows an integrative approach of linguistic, neuropsychological and neuroanatomical data to define silent pauses in connected speech, and illustrates interrelations between cognitive components, temporal aspects of speech, and anatomical indices, while it further highlights the importance of studying connected speech indices using different narrative tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- G. Angelopoulou
- Neuropsychology&Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - D. Kasselimis
- Neuropsychology&Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Department of Psychology, Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece
| | - M. Varkanitsa
- Center for Brain Recovery, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - D. Tsolakopoulos
- Neuropsychology&Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - G. Papageorgiou
- Neuropsychology&Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - G. Velonakis
- 2nd Department of Radiology, General University Hospital “Attikon”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - E. Meier
- The Aphasia Network Lab, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - E. Karavassilis
- 2nd Department of Radiology, General University Hospital “Attikon”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- School of Medicine, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - V. Pantoleon
- 2nd Department of Radiology, General University Hospital “Attikon”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - N. Laskaris
- Neuropsychology&Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- Department of Industrial Design and Production Engineering, School of Engineering, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece
| | - N. Kelekis
- 2nd Department of Radiology, General University Hospital “Attikon”, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - A. Tountopoulou
- Stroke Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - S. Vassilopoulou
- Stroke Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - D. Goutsos
- Department of Linguistics, School of Philosophy, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - S. Kiran
- Center for Brain Recovery, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - C. Weiller
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - M. Rijntjes
- Department of Neurology and Clinical Neuroscience, University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - C. Potagas
- Neuropsychology&Language Disorders Unit, 1st Department of Neurology, Eginition Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
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