Pragmatic language comprehension: Role of theory of mind, executive functions, and the prefrontal cortex

Ouerchefani, Riadh; Ouerchefani, Naoufel; Ben Rejeb, Mohamed Riadh; Le Gall, Didier

doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108756

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Most studies assessing the association between pragmatic deficits and other cognitive impairments had proposed a linkage with executive dysfunction [47][48][49]. In a sample of 30 patients with damage of the prefrontal cortex, Ouerchefani et al [50] found significant associations among impairment of pragmatic abilities, deficits in executive functions, and theory-ofmind (ToM) tests. Tsolakopoulos et al [51] found frequent co-occurrences of executive deficits, ToM deficits and pragmatic impairments in patients with right hemispheric stroke, suggesting that pragmatic deficits could stem from deficits in executive and ToM cognitive abilities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pragmatic Communication Deficit and Functional Outcome in Patients with Right- and Left-Brain Damage: A Pilot Study

Spaccavento,

Caliendo,

Galetta

et al. 2024

Brain Sciences

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Pragmatic communication abilities refer to the capacity to use language in a social context. Despite evidence to the contrary, the left cerebral hemisphere of the majority of right handers has been considered exclusively specialized for control of language phonology, syntax and semantics, whereas the right hemisphere has been specialized for the control of language pragmatics. Many studies have shown the non-exclusivity of the left hemisphere for language skills. Communication deficits observed in these studies for patients with right hemisphere damage confirmed the necessity for integrity of the right hemisphere across a number of language components. The aim of this study is to investigate the specific role of the right and left hemispheres across several aspects of communication deficits, with particular attention given to the influence of these deficits on functional outcome. The second aim is to characterize possible correlations between pragmatic and other cognitive deficits. We evaluated 22 patients, 15 with left- and 7 with right-brain ischemic or hemorrhagic damage, using cognitive, pragmatic and language tests. We deployed the Right Hemisphere Language Battery–Santa Lucia and Montreal d’Evaluation de la Communication to assess pragmatic abilities. The results showed no statistically significant differences between patients with left- and right-brain damage, highlighting the importance of integration between the two hemispheres in the communication process. Multiple significant correlations were found between pragmatic abilities and cognitive tests assessing global cognitive functioning, pantomime expression and comprehension. Pragmatic deficits were also shown to correlate with functional cognitive outcome. It is important to assess pragmatic abilities in patients with cognitive deficits after both left and right stroke for tailoring neuropsychological intervention to mitigate pragmatic disabilities in functional outcomes.

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