scholarly journals Proper Names and Common Nouns are differently supported by Cognitive Reserve and Semantic Knowledge in healthy aging

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Montemurro ◽  
Maria Montefinese ◽  
Martina Serena ◽  
Veronica Pucci ◽  
Sara Mondini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Proper Names ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Common Noun ◽  
Additive Effects ◽  
Proper Name ◽  
Relevant Component ◽  
Name Retrieval

Cognitive reserve refers to acquired learnings that modulate brain resistance to physiological aging or brain damage. One relevant component of cognitive reserve seems to be the richness of connections in the semantic knowledge. We examined the influence of cognitive reserve and semantic knowledge on proper name and common noun retrieval.Sixty-six elderly participants were administered a questionnaire for cognitive reserve, and tests assessing semantic knowledge and proper name and common noun retrieval. Results showed that proper names were more difficult to retrieve than common nouns. Moreover, cognitive reserve and semantic knowledge were linearly and positively associated with common noun retrieval, with additive effects. In contrast, they interacted with each other in predicting the retrieval of proper names: cognitive reserve had a greater impact on proper name retrieval in older adults with weaker semantic profile, while semantic knowledge assisted proper name retrieval in older adults with scarcer cognitive reserve.

Proper name retrieval in cognitive decline

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 215-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Montemurro ◽  
Sara Mondini ◽  
Massimo Nucci ◽  
Carlo Semenza
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Cognitive Assessment ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Proper Names ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Proper Name ◽  
Healthy Participants ◽  
Moca Score ◽  
Naming Test ◽  
Name Retrieval

Abstract This study explores the retrieval of proper names and the sensitivity of this lexical category to the modulatory effect of cognitive reserve in an aging population. Thirty-two elderly patients, undergoing their first neuropsychological evaluation were matched for age and education to thirty-two healthy controls. All participants were administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) to measure their global cognitive performance, the Famous Face Naming test to assess proper name retrieval, and the Cognitive Reserve Index (CRI) questionnaire to obtain an index of cognitive reserve. The two groups had comparable CRI total scores, but patients’ performance was worse in both MoCA and Famous Face naming test, compared to healthy controls. Results showed that cognitive reserve predicted global cognitive performance (i.e., MoCA score) in the patients, but not in the healthy participants. Naming proper names was independent from cognitive reserve. This might be due to their lexical nature, which lies in a poor semantic connection between proper names and their bearers.

Neurolinguistic and syntactic evidence for basic level meaning in proper names

1999 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Willy Van Langendonck
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Proper Names ◽  
Special Kind ◽  
Common Noun ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Lexical Meaning ◽  
The Status ◽  
Proper Name ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Basic Level

This paper is intended to be an interdisciplinary investigation of the status of proper names, although it takes linguistics as its point of departure. In this study I will define proper names in terms of the currently developing Radical Construction Grammar, as promoted by Croft (to appear). Starting from the referential and semantic functions of proper names, I discuss the opposing theses of the language philosophers John Searle and Saul Kripke, and then formulate my position that proper names are assigned an ad hoc referent in an ad hoc name-giving act, i.e. not on the basis of a concept or predication as with common nouns. This ad hoc assignment can be repeated several times, so numerous people can be called John. Proper names do not have asserted lexical meaning but do display presuppositional meanings of several kinds: categorical (basic level), associative senses (introduced either via the name-bearer or via the name-form) and grammatical meanings. Language specifically, this referential and semantic status is reflected in the occurrence of proper names in certain constructions. I thus claim that close (or 'restrictive') appositional patterns of the form [definite article + noun + noun], e.g. the poet Burns, are relevant to the definition of proper names in English and also to the categorical (often basic level) meaning of the name. From proper names we can also derive nouns that appear as a special kind of common noun, e.g. another John. From a methodological viewpoint it is imperative to distinguish here between (proprial) lexemes or lemmas in isolation (dictionary entries) and proprial lemmas in their different functions (prototypically: proper name, nonprototypically: common noun or other). To corroborate the above theses, I will adduce recent psycholinguistic and especially neurolinguistic evidence. The overall argument will be based mainly on material from Germanic languages, especially English, Dutch and German.

scholarly journals Reserve and Healthy Aging

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 794-794
Author(s):  
Cynthia Felix ◽  
Briana Sprague
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Sensory Deprivation ◽  
Scientific Meeting ◽  
Common Pathway ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Brain Reserve ◽  
Physiological Reserve

Abstract In line with the GSA 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting theme of “Turning 75: Why Age Matters”, our symposium highlights the fact healthy aging is relevant to maintaining reserve- be it brain/cognitive reserve or physiological reserve. Even among older adults 75 or older, continuing to practice healthy aging habits, helps with reserve. In this symposium, Drs. Felix and Carlson discuss how positive neuroplastic processes such as social engagement and social volunteering may aid in brain/cognitive reserve. Dr. Lin discusses how negative neuroplastic processes such as hearing loss may hamper the same. The “use-it-or-lose-it” hypothesis may be a common pathway in effecting brain reserve, regardless of whether the inputs are social or sensory stimuli. Physiological reserve is also important in aging, and Dr. Sprague talks about energy and frailty, with frailty being an accelerated decline of physiological reserve. While the studies presented are from older adult populations, reserve often takes a lifetime of effort to build and maintain. The symposium speakers present several hypotheses such as brain reserve, cognitive reserve, cognitive load, information degradation, sensory deprivation and frailty. An application of these concepts, would help older adults practice aging habits that promote reserve, into advanced old age, at individual and community levels. Brain Interest Group Sponsored Symposium

Quantifying the Lemma Massa as a Proper-Name in the John and Massa Tales

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-53
Author(s):  
Floyd Knight
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Method ◽  
Proper Names ◽  
Common Noun ◽  
Contextual Analysis ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Fourth Condition ◽  
Proper Name

English nouns have been described as having the ability to “switch easily between common-noun and proper-name uses.” Such changes or transformations are sometimes misanalysed by researchers and are often hard for ELL and L2 ESL researchers to detect. In this article, the author will analyze and tag the use of the Lemma MASTER (Massa/Maussa/Marsta/Marster/Master) as both a proper-name and as a common noun in the John and Massa tales from three corpora as well as provide a procedure for doing mixed method research to adjudicate differences in analysis offered by various scholars. The author will also discuss the need to add a fourth condition to Kripke's definition for proper names and why undertaking pragmatic and contextual analysis is warranted.

scholarly journals Neuropsychological Test Performance and Cognitive Reserve in Healthy Aging and the Alzheimer's Disease Spectrum: A Theoretically Driven Factor Analysis

2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1071-1080 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan B. Mitchell ◽  
Lynn W. Shaughnessy ◽  
Steven D. Shirk ◽  
Frances M. Yang ◽  
Alireza Atri
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Control Group

AbstractAccurate measurement of cognitive function is critical for understanding the disease course of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Detecting cognitive change over time can be confounded by level of premorbid intellectual function or cognitive reserve and lead to under- or over-diagnosis of cognitive impairment and AD. Statistical models of cognitive performance that include cognitive reserve can improve sensitivity to change and clinical efficacy. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test a four-factor model composed of memory/language, processing speed/executive function, attention, and cognitive reserve factors in a group of cognitively healthy older adults and a group of participants along the spectrum of amnestic mild cognitive impairment to AD (aMCI-AD). The model showed excellent fit for the control group (χ2 = 100; df = 78; CFI = .962; RMSEA = .049) and adequate fit for the aMCI-AD group (χ2 = 1750; df = 78; CFI = .932; RMSEA = .085). Although strict invariance criteria were not met, invariance testing to determine if factor structures are similar across groups yielded acceptable absolute model fits and provide evidence in support of configural, metric, and scalar invariance. These results provide further support for the construct validity of cognitive reserve in healthy and memory impaired older adults. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–10)

scholarly journals 402 - Cognitive reserve and linguistic skills in Spanish older adults with Alzheimer’s disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (S1) ◽  
pp. 118-118
Author(s):  
Cristina G. Dumitrache ◽  
Laura Rubio ◽  
Nuria Calet ◽  
José Andrés González ◽  
Ian C. Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
Global Deterioration Scale ◽  
Age Related

Background:Cognitive reserve, or the extent to which brain can cope with damage, is associated with extended healthy aging and with slow age-related cognitive decline, as well as a lower number of dementia-associated clinical cognitive signs. Thus, understanding how cognitive reserve might affect different cognitive abilities is important. This study aims at investigating the associations between cognitive reserve and linguistic abilities in a group of Spanish older adults with Alzheimer’s disease.Method:The sample comprised 25 older adults with a clinical diagnostic of AD with mild to moderate dementia, and 25 controls who were residing in care homes from the province of Granada and with ages between 52 and 92 years old (M= 83.40, SD= 7.18). The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), the Global Deterioration Scale, the Cognitive Reserve Questionnaire, and the Short Form of the Boston Naming Test for Individuals with Aphasia were used to collect data. Correlations and regression analysis were performed.Results:Results showed that cognitive reserve positively and significantly correlated with naming and with phonological fluency but not with semantic fluency word or sentence repetitions or with the global cognitive functioning and the severity of cognitive impairment. The regression analysis showed that cognitive reserve explained 24.7% of the variance in spontaneous naming (F=3.764, p=.039). On the contrary cognitive reserve did not predict verbal fluency.Conclusions:People with higher cognitive reserve score obtained higher scores in phonological fluency and in spontaneous naming and in naming after a semantic clue. Thus, cognitive reserve is linked with better linguistic abilities in AD patients and therefore it should be considered when designing speech therapy interventions for these patients.

scholarly journals Les techniques de traduction des urbanonymes sur l’exemple des romans policiers polonais et leurs traductions en français

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 51-68
Author(s):  
Urszula Kochanowska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Proper Names ◽  
Common Noun ◽  
Common Belief ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Proper Name

There is a common belief that proper names are not to be translated. The author traced the transfer of urbanonyms in French translations of two Polish crime novels set in contemporary Warsaw. The analysis has been based on the techniques of translating proper names by K. Hejwowski (2004, 2015). The dominant techniques used in various categories of urbanonyms have been distinguished (simple transfer, transfer with spelling modification, translation). In the case of street names, avenues and squares derived from surnames, translators use inflectional neutralization. Another frequent technique is to add the qualifiers rue (‘street’) and quartier (‘district’) to the names of streets and neighbourhoods. In Polish, they are often omitted, which, in the case of street names, is unacceptable in French. Moreover, several techniques allowing removing a proper name or to replace it with a common noun have also been detected. All in all, the techniques applied for translating urbanonyms make it easier for the French recipient to follow the threads of the novel and to read foreign names. However, they deprive him/her of contact with some features of foreign names’ strangeness that characterize a different cultural area.

Priming and Proper Name Retrieval in Young and Older Adults

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lori E. James ◽  
Leslie L. Drage ◽  
Sara Beavers ◽  
Brandon McClure
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Proper Name ◽  
Name Retrieval

scholarly journals Cognitive Reserve and Its Effect in Older Adults on Retrieval of Proper Names, Logo Names and Common Nouns

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Montemurro ◽  
Sara Mondini ◽  
Chiara Crovace ◽  
Gonia Jarema
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Cognitive Reserve ◽  
Proper Names

scholarly journals Do Alzheimer’s Disease Patients Benefit From Prior-Knowledge in Associative Recognition Memory?

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (04) ◽  
pp. 443-452
Author(s):  
Emma Delhaye ◽  
Adrien Folville ◽  
Isabelle Simoes Loureiro ◽  
Laurent Lefebvre ◽  
Eric Salmon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Semantic Memory ◽  
Associative Memory ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Healthy Older Adults

AbstractObjectives: Although the influence of prior knowledge on associative memory in healthy aging has received great attention, it has never been studied in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This study aimed at assessing whether AD patients could benefit from prior knowledge in associative memory and whether such benefit would be related to the integrity of their semantic memory. Methods: Twenty-one AD patients and 21 healthy older adults took part in an associative memory task using semantically related and unrelated word pairs and were also submitted to an evaluation of their semantic memory. Results: While participants of both groups benefited from semantic relatedness in associative discrimination, related pairs recognition was significantly predicted by semantic memory integrity in healthy older adults only. Conclusions: We suggest that patients benefitted from semantic knowledge to improve their performance in the associative memory task, but that such performance is not related to semantic knowledge integrity evaluation measures because the two tasks differ in the way semantic information is accessed: in an automatic manner for the associative memory task, with automatic processes thought to be relatively preserved in AD, and in a controlled manner for the semantic knowledge evaluation, with controlled processes thought to be impaired in AD. (JINS, 2019, 25, 443–452)

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