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Training outcomes for manipulable verbs in persons with aphasia: implications for verb representation

Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah1*
  • 1 University of Maryland, College Park, Hearing and Speech Sciences, United States

Verb retrieval difficulties are more pervasive in aphasia (Matzig et al., 2009), are more likely to be associated with grammatical impairment (Berndt et al., 1997), and with communicative difficulties in daily living (Rofes et al., 2015). Language training outcomes are more modest for verbs compared to nouns, both in terms of improvement in trained verbs and generalization to untrained verbs (Webster & Whitworth, 2012). A significant challenge in verb intervention is our limited understanding of the conceptual organization of verbs, which in turn limits the ability to design verb trainings that harness principles of verb representation for better outcomes. This study investigated if manipulability is an organizational feature that can be utilized for verb training and generalization. Manipulability, which refers to the use of fine-hand gestures, has been found to be associated with distinct neural signatures (Saccuman et al., 2006), and has a predisposition for breakdown in aphasia (Arevalo et al., 2007). While several studies have found neural and behavioral associations between processing of a manipulable verb and its corresponding manual action (e.g., to write, to brush), it is yet unclear if verbs with similar actions are related to each other. Uncovering relationships between verbs aids more accurate prediction of verb training and generalization outcomes. The goal of this study was to elucidate conceptual-semantic organization of verbs by examining training and generalization effects following training for manipulable verbs. We hypothesized that, if manipulability is a semantic feature by which verbs are organized, then training of manipulable verbs would generalize to untrained manipulable verbs, but not to untrained non-manipulable verbs (e.g. to run). Methods Six persons with nonfluent aphasia and a verb deficit (mean age=62.2 years, 3 females, mean education = 18.2 years, mean months post-onset = 43.6) received 12 hours of individual training on 20 manipulable verbs using action videos. Training verbs were individually selected from 61 manipulable verbs based on inability to consistently name verbs over three sessions. The “total verb training” protocol included phonological (verb repetition), semantic (semantic feature analysis) and syntactic (sentence generation) attributes of verbs. Average accuracy of naming action videos of trained manipulable, untrained manipulable and untrained non-manipulable verbs is shown in Figure 1. Training significantly improved naming of trained manipulable verbs (Mann-Whitney U =25, p <.01, effect size = 14.1), but not of untrained manipulable and non-manipulable verbs (Mann-Whitney Us < 16, p >.05, effect sizes = .7). Discussion Twelve hours of verb training improved trained verb accuracy with a large effect size, with minimal generalization to untrained verbs. These findings are consistent with numerous studies that have found limited generalization to untrained verbs (Webster & Whitworth, 2012) and another study in which trained and generalization verbs were selected based on semantic feature overlap (Faroqi-Shah & Graham, 2011). While one interpretation of the limited generalization is that manipulability is not an organizational feature of verb representations, it is also possible that the 12 hours of verb training is insufficient for the newly strengthened trained verb networks to propagate effects to related verb representations.

Figure 1
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References


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Faroqi-Shah, Y., & Graham, L. E. (2011). Treatment of semantic verb classes in aphasia: acquisition and generalization effects. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 25(5), 399-418.

Matzig, S., Druks, J., Masterson, J., & Vigliocco, G. (2009). Noun and verb differences in picture naming: Past studies and new evidence. Cortex, 45, 738-758.

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Saccuman, M. C., Cappa, S. F., Bates, E. A., Arevalo, A., Della Rosa, P., Danna, M., & Perani, D. (2006). The impact of semantic reference on word class: An fMRI study of action and object naming. NeuroImage, 32(4), 1865-1878.

Webster, J., & Whitworth, A. (2012). Treating verbs in aphasia: exploring the impact of therapy at the single word and sentence levels. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47(6), 619-636.

Yasuda, M., Stins, J. F., & Higuchi, T. (2017). Effect of Constrained Arm Posture on the Processing of Action Verbs. Front Neurosci, 11, 57.

Keywords: Aphasia, Verb, Rehabilitation, training, semantics, manipulability

Conference: Academy of Aphasia 56th Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada, 21 Oct - 23 Oct, 2018.

Presentation Type: oral presentation

Topic: not eligible for a student prize

Citation: Faroqi-Shah Y (2019). Training outcomes for manipulable verbs in persons with aphasia: implications for verb representation. Conference Abstract: Academy of Aphasia 56th Annual Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2018.228.00095

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Received: 01 May 2018; Published Online: 22 Jan 2019.

* Correspondence: Dr. Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah, University of Maryland, College Park, Hearing and Speech Sciences, College Park, 20742, United States, yfshah@umd.edu