scholarly journals Developing a Semantic Similarity Judgment Test for Persian Action Verbs and Non-action Nouns in Patients With Brain Injury and Determining its Content Validity

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-181
Author(s):  
Tabassom Azimi ◽  
◽  
Zahra-Saddat Qoreishi ◽  
Reza Nilipour ◽  
Morteza Farazi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Similarity ◽  
Content Validity ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Similarity Judgment ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Action Verb ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Verb Processing ◽  
Action Verbs ◽  
The Brain

Objective: Brain trauma evidences suggest that the two grammatical categories of noun and verb are processed in different regions of the brain due to differences in the complexity of grammatical and semantic information processing. Studies have shown that the verbs belonging to different semantic categories lead to neural activity in different areas of the brain, and action verb processing is related to the activity of motor and pre-motor areas of the brain. Researchers use different tasks to evaluate action verb processing. The most common tasks are action naming and action fluency tasks. Although these types of tasks are sensitive to deficits in action verb processing, they do not specify the nature of the injury. To understand whether dysfunction in action verb processing is due to difficulty in lexical access or specific impairment in semantic processing, it is necessary to design a specific test to evaluate lexical-semantic processing. Semantic Similarity Judgment (SSJ) test targets the lexical-semantic encoding at a deep and controlled processing level. The purpose of the present study was to develop a SSJ test for Persian action verbs and non-action nouns and determine its content validity. Materials & Methods: In this methodological study, 70 Persian action concrete verbs and 80 Persian non-action concrete nouns were first selected. For each word, a semantically related word based on functional, physical, categorical features and similarity in action was selected according to the opinion of 4 experts (3 speech-language pathologists and one linguist) using a 7-point scale. For semantic similarity rating, only the pairs of words with a high semantic similarity score (5 to 7) remained and the rest were omitted. Then, for each pair of semantically related words, a semantically unrelated word was selected. After determining content validity qualitatively by three experts and removing inappropriate items, for matching the two sets of nouns and verbs, the lexical and psycholinguistic characteristics of the remaining words (207 nouns and 156 verbs) including frequency, number of syllables, phonemes, letters, phonological and orthographic neighbors, action association, imageability, familiarity and age of acquisition were extracted by 18 volunteers (13 speech-language pathologists and linguists and 5 parents selected by a convenience sampling method) based on a 7-point scale. The verbs with low action associations and the nouns with high action association were removed and then, the two sets of words were matched for other lexical and psycholinguistic characteristics. Finally, 34 triples of verbs with high action association and 34 triples of nouns with low action association were selected. In both noun and verb sets, the words were chosen in such a way that, in order to judge, the semantic features of the words need to be carefully considered. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and independent t-test.

scholarly journals Multimodal Comprehension in Left Hemisphere Stroke Patients

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriella Vigliocco ◽  
Anna Krason ◽  
Harrison Stoll ◽  
Alessandro Monti ◽  
Laurel Buxbaum
Keyword(s):  
Gesture Recognition ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Video Clip ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Support Vector ◽  
Speech Task ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Lesion Symptom Mapping ◽  
The Brain

Hand gestures, imagistically related to the content of speech, are ubiquitous in face-to-face communication. In the first study with people with aphasia (PWA) investigating speech-gesture processing in the brain using lesion-symptom mapping, we investigated the brain regions as well as the lexical-semantic and gesture recognition abilities associated with benefits and costs of multimodal speech-gesture input. Twenty-nine PWA and 16 matched controls were shown a picture of an object/action and then a video-clip of a speaker producing speech-gesture pairs (congruent/incongruent) or only speaking or gesturing. Their task was to indicate, in different blocks, whether the picture and the word matched (Speech task), or whether the picture and the gesture matched (Gesture task). Multivariate lesion analysis with Support Vector Regression Lesion Symptom Mapping (SVR-LSM) showed that benefit for congruent speech-gesture was associated with 1) lesioned voxels in anterior fronto-temporal regions including inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and sparing of posterior temporal cortex and lateral temporal-occipital regions (pTC/LTO) for the Speech task, and 2) conversely, lesions to pTC/LTO and sparing of anterior regions for the Gesture task. The two tasks did not share overlapping voxels. Costs from incongruent speech-gesture pairings were associated with lesioned voxels in these same anterior (for the Speech task) and posterior (for the Gesture task) regions, but crucially, also shared voxels in superior and middle temporal gyri, including the anterior temporal lobe. These results suggest that IFG and pTC/LTO contribute to extracting semantic information from speech or gesture respectively; however, they are not causally involved in integrating information from the two modalities. In contrast, regions in anterior STG/MTG are associated with performance in both tasks and may thus be critical to speech-gesture integration. These conclusions are further supported by associations between benefits/costs specific to each task and performance in tests assessing lexical-semantic processing and gesture recognition.

Words in motion: Motor-language coupling in Parkinson’s disease

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adolfo García ◽  
Agustín Ibáñez
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Prodromal Stage ◽  
Action Verb ◽  
Neural Integration ◽  
Action Language ◽  
Electrophysiological Studies ◽  
Verb Processing ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
Action Verbs

AbstractA growing body of evidence indicates that neurodegenerative motor disorders involved high-order cognitive dysfunctions. Crucially, evidence obtained in multiple behavioral, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological studies points to selective impairments of action language -that is, processing of linguistic stimuli denoting motor actions, including idioms (e.g., cut a rug) and action verbs (e.g., clap). Action-verb deficits (with relative preservation of noun processing) have been repeatedly documented in Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, research on relevant biomarkers is still scant, and clinical implications of these findings have not yet been formally discussed. Relevant insights may be obtained through the assessment of motor-language coupling (i.e., the behavioral and neural integration of action-verb processing and ongoing motor actions). We propose that motorlanguage coupling deficits, as indexed by a cortical-subcortical network, may constitute an early neurocognitive marker of PD. Specifically, deficits in this domain at the prodromal stage may be detected through the actionsentence compatibility (ACE) paradigm, which induces a contextual coupling of ongoing motor actions and action-verb processing. Our translational proposal is supported and illustrated by recent studies demonstrating the sensitivity of the ACE technique as well as its potential to assist in differential diagnosis and interventionprogram design.

scholarly journals When the Action to Be Performed at the Stage of Retrieval Enacts Memory of Action Verbs

2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-31
Author(s):  
Thibaut Brouillet ◽  
Arthur-Henri Michalland ◽  
Sophie Martin ◽  
Denis Brouillet
Keyword(s):  
Memory Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Cued Recall ◽  
Motor Action ◽  
Real Objects ◽  
Verb Processing ◽  
Action Verbs ◽  
The Brain

Abstract. According to the embodied approach of language, concepts are grounded in sensorimotor mental states, and when we process language, the brain simulates some of the perceptions and actions that are involved when interacting with real objects. Moreover, several studies have highlighted that cognitive performances are dependent on the overlap between the motor action simulated and the motor action required by the task. On the other hand, in the field of memory, the role of action is under debate. The aim of this work was to show that performing an action at the stage of retrieval influences memory performance in a recognition task (experiment 1) and a cued recall task (experiment 2), even if the participants were never instructed to consider the implied action. The results highlighted an action-based memory effect at the retrieval stage. These findings contribute to the debate about the implication of motor system in action verb processing and its role for memory.

scholarly journals Action/Verb processing: Debates in neuroimaging and the contribution of studies in patients with Parkinson's disease

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henrique Salmazo da Silva ◽  
Juliana Machado ◽  
André Cravo ◽  
Maria Alice de Mattos Pimenta Parente ◽  
Maria Teresa Carthery-Goulart
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Embodied Cognition ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Psycholinguistic Variables ◽  
Verb Processing ◽  
Cognition Model ◽  
Action Verbs ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

ABSTRACT The objective of the current review was to verify whether studies investigating lexical-semantic difficulties in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) support the Embodied Cognition model. Under this framework, it is predicted that patients with PD will have more difficulties in the semantic processing of action concepts (action verbs) than of motionless objects. We also verified how and whether these studies are following current debates of Neuroscience, particularly the debate between the Lexical and the Embodied Cognition models. Recent neuroimaging studies on the neural basis of the semantics of verbs were presented, as well as others that focused on the neural processing of verbs in PD. We concluded that few studies suitably verified the Embodied Cognition theory in the context of PD, especially using neuroimaging techniques. These limitations show there is much to investigate on the semantic difficulties with action verbs in these patients, where it is particularly important to control for psycholinguistic variables and the inherent semantic characteristics of verbs in future studies.

scholarly journals LEXICAL-SEMANTIC PROCESSING OF ACTIONS/VERBS IN PARKINSON’S DISEASE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dayse Souza ◽  
Henrique Salmazo- Silva ◽  
Roberta Baradel ◽  
Reynaldo Sandrini ◽  
Katerina Lukasova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Semantic Association ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Semantic Access ◽  
Therapeutic Alternatives ◽  
Action Verbs

Background: Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease present motor and cognitive impairment. In the language domain PD is a good model to study the functional contribution of the motor system to language processing. Objective: To investigate the performance of Parkinson’s disease patients on a lexical-semantic processing task of action verbs, compared to cognitively healthy controls. Methods: Parkinson’s patients performed the naming (n=25) and semantic association (n=19) tests of the Kisssing and Dancing Test - KDT, adapted by Baradel (2016). Patients were compared to cognitively healthy controls (n=44). Results: We observed a difference in performance on the naming (t[47]=-2.609, p=0.012) and semantic verb association (t[36]=-4.795, p=0.000) tasks between the groups. Parkinson’s patients had lower mean scores than healthy controls on both the naming and semantic association tasks. Conclusion: Parkinson’s patients may exhibit difficulties in lexical and semantic access of language with action content compared to healthy subjects. These results are consistent with Embodied Cognition and may support therapeutic alternatives in the field of language neuroscience.

scholarly journals Brain Activation During Reading in Deep Dyslexia: An MEG Study

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 622-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Laine ◽  
Riitta Salmelin ◽  
Päivi Helenius ◽  
Reijo Marttila
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Processing ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Word Reading ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Deep Dyslexia ◽  
Single Word Reading

Magnetoencephalographic (MEG) changes in cortical activity were studied in a chronic Finnish-speaking deep dyslexic patient during single-word and sentence reading. It has been hypothesized that in deep dyslexia, written word recognition and its lexical-semantic analysis are subserved by the intact right hemisphere. However, in our patient, as well as in most nonimpaired readers, lexical-semantic processing as measured by sentence-final semantic-incongruency detection was related to the left superior-temporal cortex activation. Activations around this same cortical area could be identified in single-word reading as well. Another factor relevant to deep dyslexic reading, the morphological complexity of the presented words, was also studied. The effect of morphology was observed only during the preparation for oral output. By performing repeated recordings 1 year apart, we were able to document significant variability in both the spontaneous activity and the evoked responses in the lesioned left hemisphere even though at the behavioural level, the patient's performance was stable. The observed variability emphasizes the importance of estimating consistency of brain activity both within and between measurements in brain-damaged individuals.

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