The Effects of Sentence Repetition–Based Working Memory Treatment on Sentence Comprehension Abilities in Individuals With Aphasia

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4S) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bora Eom ◽  
Jee Eun Sung
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Treatment Approach ◽  
Treatment Protocol ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Linguistic Units

Purpose This study investigated whether sentence repetition–based working-memory (SR-WM) treatment increased sentence-repetition abilities and the treatment effects generalized to sentence-comprehension abilities, WM-span tasks, and general language-assessment tasks. Method Six individuals with aphasia participated in the study. The treatment consisted of 12 sessions of approximately 1 hr per day, 3 times per week. The SR-WM treatment protocol followed components including maintenance and computation of linguistic units by facilitating a chunking strategy. We manipulated the length and syntactic structures of the sentence-repetition stimuli using a limited set of vocabulary. Results Participants demonstrated significant increased repetition ability in treated and untreated sentences after treatment. Furthermore, they showed generalization effects on the sentence-comprehension task, WM measures, and general language tasks, but with some differential patterns, depending on task demands. Conclusions The SR-WM treatment approach, by manipulating syntactic structures and minimizing top-down semantic processing, elicited increased performance on sentence repetition as well as other linguistic domains. Results indicated that it is clinically and theoretically important to examine whether WM treatment serves as a potentially underlying treatment approach that facilitates the distributed network associated with language processing.

scholarly journals The domain-general multiple demand (MD) network does not support core aspects of language comprehension: a large-scale fMRI investigation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgeniia Diachek ◽  
Idan Blank ◽  
Matthew Siegelman ◽  
Josef Affourtit ◽  
Evelina Fedorenko
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Left Hemisphere ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Network Language ◽  
Temporal Language

AbstractAside from the language-selective left-lateralized fronto-temporal network, language comprehension sometimes additionally recruits a domain-general bilateral fronto-parietal network implicated in executive functions: the multiple demand (MD) network. However, the nature of the MD network’s contributions to language comprehension remains debated. To illuminate the role of this network in language processing, we conducted a large-scale fMRI investigation using data from 30 diverse word and sentence comprehension experiments (481 unique participants, 678 scanning sessions). In line with prior findings, the MD network was active during many language tasks. Moreover, similar to the language-selective network, which is robustly lateralized to the left hemisphere, these responses were stronger in the left-hemisphere MD regions. However, in stark contrast with the language-selective network, the MD network responded more strongly (i) to lists of unconnected words than to sentences, and critically, (ii) in paradigms with an explicit task compared to passive comprehension paradigms. In fact, many passive comprehension tasks failed to elicit a response above the fixation baseline in the MD network, in contrast to strong responses in the language-selective network. In tandem, these results argue against a role for the MD network in core aspects of sentence comprehension like inhibiting irrelevant meanings or parses, keeping intermediate representations active in working memory, or predicting upcoming words or structures. These results align with recent evidence of relatively poor tracking of the linguistic signal by the MD regions during naturalistic comprehension, and instead suggest that the MD network’s engagement during language processing likely reflects effort associated with extraneous task demands.Significance StatementDomain-general executive processes, like working memory and cognitive control, have long been implicated in language comprehension, including in neuroimaging studies that have reported activation in domain-general multiple demand (MD) regions for linguistic manipulations. However, much prior evidence has come from paradigms where language interpretation is accompanied by extraneous tasks. Using a large fMRI dataset (30 experiments/481 participants/678 sessions), we demonstrate that MD regions are engaged during language comprehension in the presence of task demands, but not during passive reading/listening—conditions that strongly activate the fronto-temporal language network. These results present a fundamental challenge to proposals whereby linguistic computations, like inhibiting irrelevant meanings, keeping representations active in working memory, or predicting upcoming elements, draw on domain-general executive resources.

Remembering sentences is not all about memory: Convergent and discriminant validity of syntactic knowledge and its relationship with reading comprehension

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Mads POULSEN ◽  
Jessie Leigh NIELSEN ◽  
Rikke VANG CHRISTENSEN
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Discriminant Validity ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Syntactic Knowledge ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Convergent And Discriminant Validity ◽  
Sentence Level ◽  
Highly Correlated

Abstract Recent studies have found correlations between sentence-level tests and reading comprehension. However, the task demands of sentence-level tests are not well understood. The present study investigated syntactic knowledge as a construct by examining the convergent and discriminant validity of two sentence-level tasks, sentence comprehension and sentence repetition, designed to test syntactic knowledge and their relation with reading comprehension. Results from 86 Grade 6 students showed that the syntax tests were more highly correlated with each other than with tests of working memory and vocabulary. This suggests that the syntax measures tap into a set of skills that are at least partially separate from these other cognitive constructs. Furthermore, syntactic knowledge explained unique variance in reading comprehension beyond controls. The syntax tasks were working memory dependent, but working memory was not the primary reason why syntax tasks are correlated with reading comprehension.

scholarly journals What Limits Our Capacity to Process Nested Long-Range Dependencies in Sentence Comprehension?

Entropy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 446
Author(s):  
Yair Lakretz ◽  
Stanislas Dehaene ◽  
Jean-Rémi King
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Capacity Limitation ◽  
Capacity Limit ◽  
Alternative Approach

Sentence comprehension requires inferring, from a sequence of words, the structure of syntactic relationships that bind these words into a semantic representation. Our limited ability to build some specific syntactic structures, such as nested center-embedded clauses (e.g., “The dog that the cat that the mouse bit chased ran away”), suggests a striking capacity limitation of sentence processing, and thus offers a window to understand how the human brain processes sentences. Here, we review the main hypotheses proposed in psycholinguistics to explain such capacity limitation. We then introduce an alternative approach, derived from our recent work on artificial neural networks optimized for language modeling, and predict that capacity limitation derives from the emergence of sparse and feature-specific syntactic units. Unlike psycholinguistic theories, our neural network-based framework provides precise capacity-limit predictions without making any a priori assumptions about the form of the grammar or parser. Finally, we discuss how our framework may clarify the mechanistic underpinning of language processing and its limitations in the human brain.

scholarly journals Neural signatures of predictive language processing in parkinson’s disease with and without mild cognitive impairment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia León-Cabrera ◽  
Javier Pagonabarraga ◽  
Joaquín Morís ◽  
Saúl Martínez-Horta ◽  
Juan Marín-Lahoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Mild Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Final Word ◽  
Related Potentials

ABSTRACTCognitive deficits are common in Parkinson’s disease (PD), with some PD patients meeting criteria for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). An unaddressed question is whether linguistic prediction is preserved in PD. This ability is nowadays deemed crucial in achieving fast and efficient comprehension, and it may be negatively impacted by cognitive deterioration. To fill this gap of knowledge, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to evaluate mechanisms of linguistic prediction in a sample of PD patients (on dopamine compensation) with and without MCI. To this end, participants read sentence contexts that were predictive or not about a sentence-final word. The final word appeared after 1 second, matching or mismatching the prediction. The introduction of the interval allowed to capture neural responses both before and after sentence-final words, reflecting semantic anticipation and processing. PD patients with normal cognition (N = 58) showed ERP responses comparable to those of matched controls. Specifically, in predictive contexts, a slow negative potential developed prior to sentence-final words, reflecting semantic anticipation. Later, expected words elicited reduced N400 responses (compared to unexpected words), indicating facilitated semantic processing. Besides, PD patients with MCI (N = 20) showed a prolongation of the N400 congruency effect (compared to matched PD patients without MCI), indicating that further cognitive decline impacts semantic processing. Finally, lower verbal fluency scores correlated with prolonged N400 congruency effects and with reduced pre-word differences in all PD patients (N = 78). This relevantly points to a role of deficits in temporal-dependent mechanisms in PD, besides prototypical frontal dysfunction, in altered semantic anticipation and semantic processing during sentence comprehension.

Subcortical Contributions to Language

2019 ◽  
pp. 850-876
Author(s):  
David A. Copland ◽  
Anthony J. Angwin
Keyword(s):  
Basal Ganglia ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Subcortical Structures ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Attentional Engagement

While it is well established that language processing is dependent on cortical mechanisms, the role of the subcortex in language function has been a point of contention since the initial clinical-anatomical observations of language deficits following vascular subcortical lesions. This chapter reviews both traditional proposals and recent discoveries of the functional and structural connectivity of the basal ganglia and thalamus with the cortex, suggesting that these subcortical structures are well positioned to contribute to language processing. It then examines both patient and healthy neuroimaging data implicating the thalamus and basal ganglia in various aspects of language, including lexical-semantics, verb/action processing, grammar, and sentence comprehension. While there is still considerable conjecture regarding the role of the basal ganglia in a number of these operations, there is now considerable evidence that the thalamus influences lexical-semantic processing through attentional engagement, while striatal-thalamic-cortical circuits most likely influence lexical-semantic functions, bilingual language processing, and sentence comprehension through domain-general mechanisms, including controlled selection and suppression.

scholarly journals Catecholaminergic Modulation of Semantic Processing in Sentence Comprehension

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (12) ◽  
pp. 6426-6443
Author(s):  
Yingying Tan ◽  
Peter Hagoort
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Double Blind ◽  
N400 Amplitude ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg ◽  
Ca Agonist

Abstract Catecholamine (CA) function has been widely implicated in cognitive functions that are tied to the prefrontal cortex and striatal areas. The present study investigated the effects of methylphenidate, which is a CA agonist, on the electroencephalogram (EEG) response related to semantic processing using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover, within-subject design. Forty-eight healthy participants read semantically congruent or incongruent sentences after receiving 20-mg methylphenidate or a placebo while their brain activity was monitored with EEG. To probe whether the catecholaminergic modulation is task-dependent, in one condition participants had to focus on comprehending the sentences, while in the other condition, they only had to attend to the font size of the sentence. The results demonstrate that methylphenidate has a task-dependent effect on semantic processing. Compared to placebo, when semantic processing was task-irrelevant, methylphenidate enhanced the detection of semantic incongruence as indexed by a larger N400 amplitude in the incongruent sentences; when semantic processing was task-relevant, methylphenidate induced a larger N400 amplitude in the semantically congruent condition, which was followed by a larger late positive complex effect. These results suggest that CA-related neurotransmitters influence language processing, possibly through the projections between the prefrontal cortex and the striatum, which contain many CA receptors.

Typicality Treatment for Naming Deficits in Aphasia: Why Does It Work?

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Swathi Kiran
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Treatment Approach ◽  
Treatment Protocol ◽  
Derived Categories ◽  
Semantic Features ◽  
Semantic Categories ◽  
Recent Treatment ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
Naming Deficits ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Purpose: The present paper provides a review of a recent treatment approach for alleviating naming deficits in patients with aphasia. This is an example of a treatment that is theoretically based and supported by behavioral evidence from normal adult language processing. Method: First, a theoretical basis for naming deficits in patients with aphasia is provided. Then, current options for semantic-based treatment of naming deficits are reviewed. Previous work from our laboratory indicates that training atypical examples of semantic categories resulted in generalization to untrained typical examples, whereas training typical examples did not result in generalization to untrained atypical examples. The usefulness of the typicality treatment approach is discussed in the context of recent studies from our laboratory that have examined this approach across a variety of semantic categories, including animate categories (e.g., birds), inanimate categories (e.g., furniture), well-defined categories such as “shapes,” and goal derived categories such as “things to have in a garage sale.” Conclusions: We suggest that the success of the treatment seemingly relies on the stringent selection of typical/atypical examples and on highlighting the variation of semantic features of the trained category as part of the treatment protocol.

scholarly journals Role of Working Memory Storage and Attention Focus Switching in Children’s Comprehension of Spoken Object Relative Sentences

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mianisha C. Finney ◽  
James W. Montgomery ◽  
Ronald B. Gillam ◽  
Julia L. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Memory Storage ◽  
Auditory Comprehension ◽  
Attention Focus ◽  
Agent Selection ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
Object Relative

The present study evaluated a two-mechanism memory model of the online auditory comprehension of object relative (OR) sentences in 7–11-year-old typically developing children. Mechanisms of interest included working memory storage (WMS) and attention focus switching. We predicted that both mechanisms would be important for comprehension. Forty-four children completed a listening span task indexing WMS, an auditory attention focus switching task, and an agent selection task indexing spoken sentence comprehension. Regression analyses indicated that WMS and attention focus switching accuracy each accounted for significant and unique variance in the children’s OR comprehension after accounting for age. Results were interpreted to suggest that WMS is important for OR comprehension by supporting children’s ability to retain both noun phrase 1 and noun phrase 2 prior to their reactivating noun phrase 1 from memory in order to integrate it into a developing structure. Attention focus switching was interpreted to be critical in supporting children’s noun phrase 1 reactivation, as they needed to switch their focus of attention momentarily away from ongoing language processing to memory retrieval.

Repetition Suppression for Spoken Sentences and the Effect of Task Demands

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2013-2029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uri Hasson ◽  
Howard C. Nusbaum ◽  
Steven L. Small
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Response Repetition ◽  
Repetition Suppression ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Oxygenation Level ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Comprehension Processing

We examined whether the repeated processing of spoken sentences is accompanied by reduced bold oxygenation level-dependent response (repetition suppression) in regions implicated in sentence comprehension and whether the magnitude of such suppression depends on the task under which the sentences are comprehended or on the complexity of the sentences. We found that sentence repetition was associated with repetition suppression in temporal regions, independent of whether participants judged the sensibility of the statements or listened to the statements passively. In contrast, repetition suppression in inferior frontal regions was found only in the context of the task demanding active judgment. These results suggest that repetition suppression in temporal regions reflects facilitation of sentence comprehension processing per se, whereas in frontal regions it reflects, at least in part, easier execution of specific psycholinguistic judgments.

scholarly journals The Critical Role of Semantic Working Memory in Language Comprehension and Production

2021 ◽  
pp. 096372142199517
Author(s):  
Randi C. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Semantic Information ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Verbal Working Memory ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Activated State ◽  
Limited Scope

Although research on the role of verbal working memory (WM) in language processing has focused on phonological maintenance, considerable evidence indicates that the maintenance of semantic information plays a more critical role. This article reviews studies of brain-damaged and healthy individuals demonstrating the contribution of semantic WM to language processing. On the sentence-comprehension side, semantic WM supports the retention of individual word meanings prior to their integration. It also serves to maintain semantic information in an activated state such that semantic interference between sentence constituents can be resolved. Phonological WM does not appear to support either of these functions, though it contributes to verbatim sentence recall. On the production side, evidence points to the phrase as the minimal scope of advance planning in sentence formulation, and to semantic WM as supporting the representation of the meanings of the content words within a phrase. Planning at the phonological level appears to have a very limited scope, making few demands on phonological WM. These findings imply that treatment of semantic but not phonological WM deficits should lead to improved sentence comprehension and production, and preliminary findings support that view.

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