Global aphasia: an innovative assessment approach.
OBJECTIVE
To provide an alternative language comprehension assessment strategy for patients unable to be tested with traditional verbally/behaviorally based methods.


METHODS
Event-related brain potentials were recorded from three midline scalp locations to visually and aurally computer-presented sentences, 50% of which were semantically appropriate and 50% semantically incongruous.


METHODS
A rehabilitation hospital.


METHODS
A 21-year-old man with a traumatic brain injury.


RESULTS
The patient exhibited brain response patterns to aurally presented congruous and incongruous sentences indicative of intact semantic processing capabilities. These findings resulted in reinstatement of individualized rehabilitative intervention, with a successful outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
This innovative technique provides new opportunities for assessing intellectual function in noncommunicative patients who were patients previously unable to be tested.
Connolly
J F
JF
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Mate-Kole
C C
CC
Joyce
B M
BM
D000328:Adult; D001037:Aphasia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D020208:Brain Injury, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed