title: Nonlinguistic learning in individuals with aphasia: effects of training method and stimulus characteristics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the current study was to explore nonlinguistic learning ability in individuals with aphasia, examining the impact of stimulus typicality and feedback on success with learning.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen individuals with aphasia and 8 nonaphasic controls participated in this study. All participants completed 4 computerized, nonlinguistic category-learning tasks. Learning ability was probed under 2 methods of instruction: feedback-based (FB) and paired-associate (PA). The impact of task complexity on learning ability was also examined, comparing 2 stimulus conditions: typical and atypical. Performance was compared between groups and across conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The controls were able to successfully learn categories under all conditions. For the individuals with aphasia, 2 patterns of performance arose: One subgroup of individuals was able to maintain learning across task manipulations and conditions; the other subgroup demonstrated a sensitivity to task complexity, learning successfully only in the typical training conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results support the hypothesis that impairments of general learning are present in individuals with aphasia. Some individuals demonstrated the ability to extract category information under complex training conditions; others learned only under conditions that were simplified and that emphasized salient category features. Overall, the typical training condition facilitated learning for all of the participants. Findings have implications for treatment, which are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. sofiav@mit.edu
authors.forename: Sofia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vallila-Rohter
authors.forename: Swathi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kiran
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001037:Aphasia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007808:Language Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D013813:Therapy, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*
keywords: adults; aphasia; category learning; language