title: An fMRI investigation of the effects of attempted naming on word retrieval in aphasia.
abstract: In healthy controls, picture naming performance can be facilitated by a single prior exposure to the same picture ("priming"). This priming phenomenon is utilized in the treatment of aphasia, which often includes repeated picture naming as part of a therapeutic task. The current study sought to determine whether single and/or multiple exposures facilitate subsequent naming in aphasia and whether such facilitatory effects act through normal priming mechanisms. A functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm was employed to explore the beneficial effects of attempted naming in two individuals with aphasia and a control group. The timing and number of prior exposures was manipulated, with investigation of both short-term effects (single prior exposure over a period of minutes) and long-term effects (multiple presentations over a period of days). Following attempted naming, both short-term and long-term facilitated items showed improvement for controls, while only the long-term condition showed benefits at a behavioral level for the participants with aphasia. At a neural level, effects of long-term facilitation were noted in the left precuneus for one participant with aphasia, a result also identified for the equivalent contrast in controls. It appears that multiple attempts are required to improve naming performance in the presence of anomia and that for some individuals with aphasia the source of facilitation may be similar to unimpaired mechanisms engaged outside the language network.
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW, Australia ; Language Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Shiree
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heath
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Katie L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: McMahon
authors.affiliation: ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW, Australia ; NHMRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Lyndsey A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Nickels
authors.affiliation: NHMRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation, St Lucia QLD, Australia ; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Angwin
authors.affiliation: Language Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, St Lucia QLD, Australia ; NHMRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Anna D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.affiliation: Language Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, St Lucia QLD, Australia ; NHMRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Sophia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Hees
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Eril
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McKinnon
authors.affiliation: Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Kori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Language Neuroscience Laboratory, University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, St Lucia QLD, Australia ; NHMRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation, St Lucia QLD, Australia ; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Copland
keywords: aphasia; fMRI; repeated picture naming; word retrieval