title: On the categorization of aphasic typologies: the SOAP (a test of syntactic complexity).
abstract: This paper presents a new measure of syntactic comprehension abilities in brain-damaged populations known as the SOAP (Subject-relative, Object-relative, Active, and Passive), along with data supporting its sensitivity and specificity. This assessment tool examines comprehension of sentences (matched for length) of four syntactic construction types: active, passive, subject-relative, and object-relative. Data are presented that indicate that the SOAP provides a sensitive and reliable differentiation of aphasia subgroups. The SOAP's sensitivity in differentiating broad behavioral (anterior/posterior-lesioned) groups is compared to the auditory comprehension component of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE), supporting its sensitivity differentiating between anterior- and posterior-lesioned groups. It is argued that this tool can be an important accompaniment to standard aphasia assessment batteries in more sensitively defining syntactic comprehension deficits.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychology-0109, La Jolla, CA 92093-0109, USA. tlove@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Tracy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Love
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oster
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001037:Aphasia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008037:Linguistics / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications