The critical role of the ventral temporal lobe in word retrieval

Deficits in word retrieval are a hallmark of a variety of neurological illnesses spanning from dementia to traumatic injuries. The role of the dominant temporal lobe in fluent naming has been characterized by lesional analyses, functional imaging, and intracranial recordings, but limitations of each of these measures preclude a clear assessment of which specific constituent of the temporal lobe is critical for naming. We studied a large cohort of patients undergoing surgical resections or laser ablations of the dominant temporal lobe for medically intractable epilepsy (n=95). These techniques are exceedingly effective for seizure control but often result in language declines, particularly in confrontation naming, which can be socio-economically disabling. We used a multivariate voxel-based lesion symptom mapping analysis to localize brain regions significantly associated with visual object naming deficits. We observed that posterior inferior temporal regions, centered around the middle fusiform gyrus, were significantly associated with a decline in confrontation naming. Furthermore, we found that the posterior margin of anterior temporal lobectomies was linearly correlated to a decline in visual naming with a clinically significant decline occurring once the resection extended 6 cm from the anterior tip of the temporal lobe. We integrated these findings with electrocorticography during naming in a subset of this population and found that the majority of cortical regions whose resection was associated with a significant decline overlapped with regions that were functionally most active prior to articulation. Importantly, these loci coincide with the sites of susceptibility artifacts during echo-planar imaging, which explains why this region has not previously been implicated. Taken together, these data highlight the crucial contribution of the posterior ventral temporal cortex in lexical access and its important role in the pathophysiology of anomia following temporal lobe resections. Surgical strategies, including the use of laser ablation to target the medial temporal lobe as well as microsurgical approaches, should attempt to preserve this region to mitigate postoperative language deficits.

The Profile of Task Performances for Cognitive-communicative Intervention in the Oldest-Old

Purpose: The “oldest-old” is the heterogeneous population compared with the younger-old in several cognitive-communication aspects. Accordingly, it is necessary to intervene in them discriminately. This study aimed to suggest the performance profiles by cognitive-communication tasks for intervention in oldest-old.Methods: Sixty-four oldest-old subjects aged 80 or older years performed 16 subtasks for the five cognitive-communication domains. And the performance profiles of group I (84.00 ± 2.62 years) and II (93.38 ± 1.61 years) were analyzed.Results: The main findings were as follows. Firstly, two groups had significant differences in performances of most tasks including working memory, reasoning, word fluency, and subjective communication. Secondly, five communication tasks were significantly correlated with all cognitive tasks and were predicted by the reasoning tasks like similarity in group I. Thirdly, word fluency and pragmatic expression tasks were significantly correlated with all cognitive tasks. Tasks including verbal problem solving were found to be the best predictors of confrontation naming in group II.Conclusion: Current study provides evidence-based information to support cognitive-communication intervention for the oldest-old. These results also can contribute to increase the efficacy of the cognitive-communicative intervention.

Age-related Differences in Confrontation Naming Ability according to Visual Stimulus Valence

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of emotions on the confrontation naming of healthy elders and young adults.Methods: The study had a total of 60 subjects (30 elders and 30 young adults). In the confrontation naming task, the researcher asked the subjects to say the name of the picture presented on a screen as quickly and accurately as possible.Results: First, the results of the study showed significantly lower accuracy in the elders compared to the young adults and a significant difference in accuracy according to emotional valence. There was a significant difference between positive and neutral emotional valance and between negative and neutral emotional valance. Additionally, the interaction between the group and emotional valence was statistically significant. The post-hoc test showed that the naming accuracy of the elders was lower than that of the young in the negative emotional valance. Secondly, elders had a longer response time than the young adults. Also, there was a significant difference in response time according to emotional valence. There was a significant difference in response time in three emotional valences (positive, negative, neutral), and the response time increased in neutral < positive < negative. Finally, the interaction between the group and emotional valence was statistically significant, which attributed to the longer response time of the elders compared to the young adults in the positive and negative emotional valance.Conclusion: The study results suggest that emotional valence may interfere with word production, and that such interference may be greater for the elderly than for the young.

A-48 Examining the Relationship between Ethnicity, Perceived Workload, and Acculturation on Cordoba Naming Test Performance

Objective Confrontation naming tests are used to examine an individual’s lexical retrieval. We examined the relationship of perceived workload and acculturation in three ethnic groups’ Cordoba Naming Test (CNT) performance. Methods The sample consisted of 32 Latinx, 11 Caucasians, and 10 Asian; all neurologically and psychologically healthy residents. All participants completed the CNT and subscales of the Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale (AMAS) in English. AMAS was used to measure acculturation and the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA TLX) measured perceived workload. Results The CNT showed that the Caucasian group outperformed the Latinx group, p = 0.024, ηp2 = 0.14. However, the Latinx group reported better CNT performance compared to the Caucasian group, p = 0.023, ηp2 = 0.14. No differences were found between groups on the AMAS. Finally, we found a significant relationship between CNT and NASA-TLX subscales (i.e., performance, mental demand, effort, frustration, & overall perceived workload) in the Latinx group, r = −0.562 to −0.398, p &lt; 0.05. Discussion Results showed the Latinx group demonstrated worse CNT performance compared to the Caucasian group. To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate confrontation naming performance in an ethnically diverse sample. Furthermore, we found the Latinx group reported a higher perceived performance on the CNT compared to Caucasians. Our results indicated a relationship between CNT performance and perceived workload in our Latinx sample as opposed to the Caucasian and Asian groups. Future research is needed with a larger sample size; moreover, additional research should investigate interactions between perceived workload, acculturation, and other cultural variables (e.g., bilingualism) in the interpretation of test performance in diverse ethnic groups.

A-46 The Influence of Acculturation on Mexicans and Guatemalans Cordoba Naming Test Performance

Objective The United States carries a diverse Latinx population. This population largely consists of Mexicans however, there has been a population decrease since 2010. Though, the Guatemalan population has increased since 2010 and has become the third most growing population in the United States. Previous research shows that level of acculturation influences neuropsychological test performance. The Córdoba Naming Test (CNT) is a confrontation naming test created for Spanish-speakers. We examined the relationship between acculturation and CNT performance in a Latinx sample that immigrated to the United States. Method The sample consisted of 44 Mexicans and 14 Guatemalans that were neurologically and psychologically healthy residents. All the participants completed the CNT and the Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale (AMAS) in Spanish. ANOVAs were used to examine CNT performance and acculturation on the AMAS subscales. Results Results revealed the Guatemalan immigrant group outperformed the Mexican immigrant group on the CNT, p = 0.035, ηp2 = 0.08. Additionally, we found that on the English language subscale of the AMAS, the Mexican immigrant group reported higher English language levels than the Guatemalan immigrant group, p = 0.002, ηp2 = 0.16. Conclusion Our findings showed that Guatemalans demonstrated better CNT performance compared to Mexicans. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine confrontation naming performance in a Latinx immigrant sample. Furthermore, we found that Mexicans reported higher English language compared to Guatemalans. Future research on the CNT with larger samples should investigate possible interactions between acculturation and other cultural variables (e.g., bilingualism) in the interpretation of test performance in a Latinx immigrant population.

An exploration of lexical selection in adults who stutter

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: People who stutter (PWS) are able to anticipate a moment of stuttering. We wished to explore whether this anticipation might be reflected by either unusual word choice and/or delayed word production during a single-word confrontation naming task. METHOD: Nine PWS and nine age- and sex-matched fluent controls completed the single-word confrontation-naming task. Groups were compared on numbers of word-finding and fluency errors, response latency, and naming accuracy, measured against a novel ‘usuality’ criterion. Regression modelling of response accuracy and latency was conducted. RESULTS: The groups did not differ on naming task performance, except for a greater frequency of response latency errors in the PWS group. For both groups, responses containing word-finding or fluency errors were more likely to be non-usual names, and these were associated with longer latencies than accurate responses. For PWS, latency was positively related to participant age, and accuracy inversely related to stuttering severity. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide insights into word substitution as a generalized behaviour, its function, and associated time-cost. Group-specific relationships imply greater sensitivity in PWS to changing demands and capacities, and highlight the complexity of interactions between physical stuttering behaviour and verbal avoidance.

Computer Adaptive Testing for the Assessment of Anomia Severity

Anomia assessment is a fundamental component of clinical practice and research inquiries involving individuals with aphasia, and confrontation naming tasks are among the most commonly used tools for quantifying anomia severity. While currently available confrontation naming tests possess many ideal properties, they are ultimately limited by the overarching psychometric framework they were developed within. Here, we discuss the challenges inherent to confrontation naming tests and present a modern alternative to test development called item response theory (IRT). Key concepts of IRT approaches are reviewed in relation to their relevance to aphasiology, highlighting the ability of IRT to create flexible and efficient tests that yield precise measurements of anomia severity. Empirical evidence from our research group on the application of IRT methods to a commonly used confrontation naming test is discussed, along with future avenues for test development.