Treatment of naming in nonfluent aphasia through manipulation of intention and attention: a phase 1 comparison of two novel treatments.
Twenty-three chronic nonfluent aphasia patients with moderate or severe word-finding impairments and 11 with profound word-finding impairments received two novel picture-naming treatments. The intention treatment initiated picture-naming trials with a complex left-hand movement and was designed to enhance right frontal participation during word retrieval. The attention treatment required patients to view visual stimuli for picture-naming trials in their left hemispace and was designed to enhance right posterior perisylvian participation during word retrieval. Because the intention treatment addressed action mechanisms and nonfluent aphasia reflects difficulty initiating or maintaining action (i.e., language output), it was hypothesized that intention component of the treatment would enhance re-acquisition of picture naming more than the attention component. Patients with moderate and severe word-finding impairment showed gains with both treatments but greater incremental improvement from one treatment phase to the next with the intention than the attention treatment. Thus, the hypothesis that intention component would be a more active constituent than the attention component was confirmed for these patients. Patients with profound word-finding impairment showed some improvement with both treatments but no differential effects for the intention treatment. Almost all patients who showed treatment gains on either treatment also demonstrated generalization from trained to untrained items.
Crosson
Bruce
B
Brain Rehabilitation Research Center, Malcom Randall VA Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32608, USA. bcrosson@phhp.ufl.edu
Fabrizio
Katherine S
KS
Singletary
Floris
F
Cato
M Allison
MA
Wierenga
Christina E
CE
Parkinson
R Bruce
RB
Sherod
Megan E
ME
Moore
Anna Bacon
AB
Ciampitti
Maribel
M
Holiway
Beth
B
Leon
Susan
S
Rodriguez
Amy
A
Kendall
Diane L
DL
Levy
Ilana F
IF
Rothi
Leslie J Gonzalez
LJ
D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001039:Aphasia, Broca / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D033182:Intention; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009275:Names; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors