This study examined the relationship between verb retrieval and verb-argument-structure properties in seven agrammatic aphasic patients using tasks requiring access to the verb's lexicon for both comprehension-and production like processes. Results showed intact comprehension of both nouns and verbs and noun naming, but impaired naming of verbs. Subjects also demonstrated near-normal performance on a grammaticality judgment task involving verb-argument-structure violations but were impaired in categorizing verbs by type (based on number of obligatory arguments). In both naming and categorization conditions, a hierarchy of verb difficulty emerged. Subjects were more accurate in naming/categorizing one-place verbs than two-place verbs and more accurate in naming/categorizing two-place verbs than three-place verbs. The pattern of selective impairment in lexical access/retrieval supports the hypothesis that one dimension of normal lexical organization is by form class. The results also suggest that no necessary relationship exists between production difficulties and comprehension of nouns/verbs in agrammatism. Further, the performance pattern noted supports the claim that verb-argumentstructure properties, an important component of the verb lexicon, influence verb production at the single-word and at the sentence level. Subjects' performance on different tasks suggests that the locus of breakdown in the verb-retrieval processes for production like tasks may be in accessing information at the lemma level of representation as per Bock's model (1995) of sentence production. Keywordsverb production in aphasia; verb categorization in aphasia; verb argument structure in aphasia; agrammatism; lexical organization in aphasia Comprehension and production of nouns and verbs have been studied in several neurological populations including aphasic patients. Researchers investigating production of nouns and verbs in aphasic patients have reported dissociations between these word classes HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript (Berndt, Mitchum, Haendiges, & Sandson, 1997;Miceli, Silveri, Nocentini, & Caramazza, 1988;Miceli, Silveri, Villa, & Caramazza, 1984; Zingeser & Berndt, 1990). Agrammatic aphasic patients show more difficulty naming verbs than nouns, while anomic aphasic subjects show the opposite pattern, suggesting that selective impairment in lexical representation and/or the lexical retrieval process can occur along the form class category. Miceli et al.'s (1988) Italian-speaking agrammatic aphasic subjects also showed such dissociations in comprehension, but this finding has not held up across studies (Berndt et al., 1997); most studies have shown a selective deficit in verb production, with comprehension remaining relatively unimpaired.Similar patterns also have been reported in studies examining sentence processing and production with a focus on verb-argument structure. Data from sentence comprehension studies indicate that agrammatic aphasic subjects show in...

This study examined the nature of verb deficits in 14 individuals with probable Alzheimer's Disease (PrAD) and nine with agrammatic aphasia. Production was tested, controlling both semantic and syntactic features of verbs, using noun and verb naming, sentence completion, and narrative tasks. Noun and verb comprehension and a grammaticality judgment task also were administered. Results showed that while both PrAD and agrammatic subjects showed impaired verb naming, the syntactic features of verbs (i.e., argument structure) influenced agrammatic, but not Alzheimer's disease patients' verb production ability. That is, agrammatic patients showed progressively greater difficulty with verbs associated with more arguments, as has been shown in previous studies (e.g., Kim & Thompson, 2000; Thompson, 2003; Thompson, Lange, Schneider, & Shapiro, 1997), and suggest a syntactic basis for verb production deficits in agrammatism. Conversely, the semantic complexity of verbs affected PrAD, but not agrammatic, patients' performance, suggesting "bottom-up" breakdown in their verb lexicon, paralleling that of nouns, resulting from the degradation or loss of semantic features of verbs.

The present study examined the composition of the early productive vocabulary of eight Korean- and eight English-learning children and the morpho-syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic characteristics of their caregivers' input in order to determine parallels between caregiver input and early lexical development. Vocabulary acquisition was followed using maternal diary and checklists for the Korean-learning children (from a mean age of 1;6 to 1;9) and for the English-learning children (from a mean age of 1;4 to 1;8). Results showed that both Korean- learning and English-learning children acquired significantly more nouns than verbs at the 50-word mark. However, Korean children learned significantly more verbs than did English-learning children. The relative ease with which Korean learners, as compared to English learners, acquired verbs parallels several differences in the linguistic and socio-pragmatic characteristics of the input addressed to them. Korean- speaking caregivers presented more activity-oriented utterances, more verbs, and more salient cues to verbs than did English-speaking caregivers. These data suggest that both general and language-specific factors shape the early lexicon.

ABSTRACT. This study provided a systematic review on nonpharmacological interventions applied to patients diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) and its variants: Semantic (SPPA), Nonfluent (NFPPA) and Logopenic (LPPA) to establish evidence-based recommendations for the clinical practice of cognitive rehabilitation for these patients. Methods: A PubMed and LILACS literature search with no time restriction was conducted with the keywords PPA (and its variants) AND rehabilitation OR training OR intervention OR therapy OR treatment OR effectiveness. To develop its evidence-based recommendations, a research committee identified questions to be addressed and determined the level of evidence for each study according to published criteria (Cicerone et al., 2000). Overall evidence for treatments was summarized and recommendations were derived. Results: Our search retrieved articles published from 1995 to 2013: 21 for SPPA, 8 for NFPPA, 3 for LPPA and 8 for PPA with no specification. Thirty-five studies were rated as Class III, consisting of studies with results obtained from one or more single-cases and that used appropriate single-subject methods with adequate quantification and analysis of results. The level of evidence of three functional interventions could not be established. One study was rated as Class II and consisted of a nonrandomized case-control investigation. Conclusion: Positive results were reported in all reviewed studies. However, in order to be recommended, some investigation regarding the intervention efficacy was required.Results of the present review allows for recommendation of some nonpharmacological interventions for cognitive deficits following PPA as Practice Options. Suggestions for further studies on PPA interventions and future research are discussed. Key words: primary progressive aphasia, treatment, speech and language therapy, intervention, cognitive rehabilitation. Este estudo ofereceu uma revisão sistemática de intervenções não-farmacológicas aplicadas a pacientes com Afasia Progressiva Primária (APP) e suas variantes: Semântica (APPS), Não-fluente (APPNF) e Logopênica (APPL) com o objetivo de estabelecer recomendações baseadas em evidências para a prática clínica de reabilitação cognitiva para estes pacientes. Métodos: Conduziu-se busca por literatura, sem restrição de período, no PubMed e LILACS com as palavraschave PPA (e variantes) AND rehabilitation OR training OR intervention OR therapy OR treatment OR effectiveness. Para desenvolver recomendações baseadas em evidências um comitê de pesquisadores identificou as questões relevantes para investigação e determinou o nível de evidência para cada estudo de acordo com critérios publicados (Cicerone et al., 2000). A evidência total para os tratamentos foi sumarizada e recomendações redigidas.

The aim of this case study was to examine whether Multiple Oral Rereading (MOR) treatment was effective in improving the reading accuracy, rate, and comprehension of text-level materials in an individual presenting with deep alexia, moderate nonfluent aphasia, and moderate apraxia of speech. Method: As in the standard MOR treatment procedures used in earlier studies (e.g., Beeson, 1998), the participant repeatedly read aloud a short story during treatment sessions and as homework until he met the treatment criterion. Then a new story was introduced. In the present study, oral reading accuracy was used as the treatment criterion instead of oral reading rate, which was used in earlier studies. The data consisted of oral reading accuracy, oral reading rate, and reading comprehension of the treatment materials as well as pre-and posttreatment assessment of oral reading accuracy and reading comprehension on external measures. Results: Our participant's oral reading accuracy improved in both the treatment context and on external measures. However, his oral reading rate during treatment and his reading comprehension of treatment stories and external measures did not reveal meaningful changes. Conclusions: The effect of the MOR treatment was limited in improving the reading ability of a client with deep alexia, Broca's aphasia, and apraxia of speech. Based on our review of past studies, we discuss the candidacy requirements and considerations for procedural modifications in adopting MOR treatment in clinical practice.