161/196. The breakdown of Japanese passives and theta-role assignment principle by Broca's aphasics. Syntactic comprehension of various types of passive sentences by Japanese Broca's aphasic patients was investigated. Based on their performance on the so-called "possessive passive" and "indirect passive," we exemplified that the comprehension abilities of Broca's aphasics and agrammatic Broca's aphasics point to a distinction between the gapped and gapless passive, as is proposed in Kubo (1990). We proposed a new structural account of syntactic disorders in Japanese, based on the assumption that the head parameter, the directionality parameter of theta-assignment, and the distinction between the internal argument and external argument are retained in the grammar of Broca's aphasics. We then demonstrated that Broca's aphasics interpret sentences by the argument structure of a predicate and by the canonical direction of the theta-assignment. It was also shown that the proposed principle can account for the Broca's aphasics' performance on other types of constructions and that it has many consequences for the language-universal account of syntactic deficits. ( info) |
162/196. Structural description of agrammatic comprehension. The trace-deletion hypothesis (Grodzinsky, 1990) holds that the comprehension deficit apparent in most agrammatic aphasics results from the absence of traces at the level of S-structure. This paper reports a test of this hypothesis in a case study of an agrammatic aphasic. Two experiments--one using a sentence-picture matching task, one using the truth-value judgment task-examined the comprehension of the matrix clause in center-embedded relatives such as, The tiger that chased the lion is big. These structures provide a crucial test of the trace-deletion hypothesis because comprehension of the matrix clause (i.e., knowing that the tiger is big and not the lion) is predicted to be unimpaired. Contrary to this prediction, however, the results of the present work show that comprehension of the matrix clause in such sentences is significantly impaired. We argue that a revised version of the trace-deletion hypothesis proposed by Hickok (1992a,b) can explain the present data and other previously unaccountable findings. ( info) |
163/196. An on-line analysis of syntactic processing in Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia. This paper is about syntactic processing in aphasia. Specifically, we present data concerning the ability of Broca's and Wernicke's aphasic patients to link moved constituents and empty elements in real time. We show that Wernicke's aphasic patients carry out this syntactic analysis in a normal fashion, but that Broca's aphasic patients do not. We discuss these data in the context of some current grammar-based theories of comprehension limitations in aphasia and in terms of the different functional commitments of the brain regions implicated in Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia, respectively. ( info) |
164/196. Praxis and the right hemisphere. We report our observations on praxis in a strongly right-handed man following a massive stroke that resulted in virtually complete destruction of the left cerebral hemisphere. Our patient was severely impaired in pantomiming transitive gestures with the left hand and in reproducing novel non-symbolic hand and arm movement sequences. However, overlearned habitual actions like actual object use and intransitive gestures were relatively spared. Performance of axial commands was intact. Gesture recognition and discrimination were also preserved. Based on these findings, we propose that the praxis system of the right hemisphere is strongly biased toward "concrete" or context-dependent execution of familiar, well-established action routines. The right hemisphere is critically dependent on transcallosal contribution from the left hemisphere for control of the left hand in "abstract" or context-independent performance of transitive movements and in learning novel movement sequences. At least in some individuals, the right hemisphere can recognize and discriminate gestures. Possible implications of our findings for the cerebral control of praxis and for recovery from apraxia are discussed. ( info) |
165/196. Pure progressive aphemia. Aphemia, also called anarthria or severe apraxia of speech, is a rare disorder of speech production usually resulting from vascular lesions affecting the inferior premotor cortex of the left hemisphere. A patient presenting with aphemia as the sole manifestation of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is reported. ( info) |
166/196. An unusual case of epileptic transient aphemia. Clinical and neuropsychological findings. A patient with unusually prolonged epileptic aphemic attacks following a surgical lesion in the left frontal lobe is described. Clinical, electroencephalographic and neuropsychological findings are reported. True aphemia is relatively rare and the described case affords the opportunity of emphasizing that a relatively rare disorder of language as aphemia might also occur with true epileptic attacks. ( info) |
167/196. Insula and aphasia. A 59-year-old woman developed impaired speech initiation as the result of a left anterior insular infarct. Findings from this case suggest that dominant hemisphere anterior insular lesions impair the speech initiation loop. ( info) |
168/196. Catastrophic reaction after stroke. A case study. The catastrophic reaction is a rare affective disorder following left hemispheric strokes. It is characterized by a disruptive emotional outburst involving anxiety, agitation and aggressive behavior. A case is presented that appears to underscore the intense frustration that these individuals experience when they cannot adequately express themselves through language. The catastrophic reaction behavior proved to be unremitting and failed to respond to withdrawal of the patient from threatening or difficult therapies, use of medications or attempts at behavioral modification. The catastrophic reaction appears to be a specific consequence of the intense frustration and perceived loss associated with an expressive aphasia. This may help explain the reportedly higher incidence of depression in left frontal strokes. ( info) |
169/196. Profiling agrammatic spoken language: towards a government and binding framework. An analytical procedure for describing agrammatic spoken language based on government and binding theory is used to characterise the spoken grammar of an aphasic adult (JR) with severe agrammatism. Analysis of JR's spoken language revealed that he produced a greater number of single-word utterances (single lexical items) in comparison with lexical and/or functional projections. both morphological and syntactic evidence suggested that JR retained a differentiated set of lexical categories. No violations of word order were found. Target determiners and target inflection phrases were not always correctly realised. No 'complementiser' phrases or complex sentences were produced by JR. Analysis of the data collected suggests that JR's morphosyntactic abilities were not 'lost', but rather specific morphosyntactic representations were inaccessible. We hypothesise that his deficit is best characterised (rather loosely, in the absence of a clear and full account of language-processing impairments, and other theoretical evidence) as a deficit in performance rather than in competence. Implications of the results of the analysis for intervention are discussed as are future plans for adaptation of the profile into a clinically useful procedure. ( info) |
170/196. bromocriptine is ineffective in the treatment of chronic nonfluent aphasia. The effect of bromocriptine on chronic nonfluent aphasia was investigated in 4 patients suffering from a stroke 24 to 35 months before the onset of this study (average 29 months). Two patients had Broca, one had global and the other transcortical motor aphasia. CT-scans demonstrated anterior-posterior infarctions in 3 patients and anterior infarction in one. bromocriptine was given initially at a dosage of 10 mg/day, and of 25 mg/day during the follow ups. By means of aphasia tests, bromocriptine was found to be ineffective for the treatment of any symptoms of chronic nonfluent aphasia. ( info) |