Syntactic and semantic contributions to sentence comprehension in agrammatism. 1989

J C Sherman, and J Schweickert
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Five aphasic subjects, who demonstrated agrammatic speech, and eight control subjects were presented with a sentence-picture matching task in which the factors of syntactic complexity, semantic reversibility, and sentence plausibility were independently varied. A subset of the sentences was patterned after that presented by A. Caramazza and E. Zurif (1976, Brain and Language, 5, 572-583) who concluded that Broca's aphasics rely on semantic constraints instead of syntactic information for sentence comprehension. Our aphasic subjects showed the same pattern of performance on this subset of sentences. However, the results from the full set of sentence materials we tested show that the aphasic subjects could perform some sentence level syntactic analyses, even when syntactic information conflicted with semantic constraints. The aphasic subjects correctly interpreted most active and passive sentences. They failed, however, to assign thematic roles and adjectives in center-embedded relative sentences, and instead relied on nonsyntactic information. These results show that both semantic and syntactic information contributed to sentence comprehension in the aphasic subjects we tested, in contrast to previous claims that syntactic and semantic processes are completely dissociated in this population.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D009483 Neuropsychological Tests Tests designed to assess neurological function associated with certain behaviors. They are used in diagnosing brain dysfunction or damage and central nervous system disorders or injury. Aphasia Tests,Cognitive Test,Cognitive Testing,Cognitive Tests,Memory for Designs Test,Neuropsychological Testing,AX-CPT,Behavioral Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome,CANTAB,Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery,Clock Test,Cognitive Function Scanner,Continuous Performance Task,Controlled Oral Word Association Test,Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System,Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment,Hooper Visual Organization Test,NEPSY,Neuropsychologic Tests,Neuropsychological Test,Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test,Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status,Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure,Symbol Digit Modalities Test,Test of Everyday Attention,Test, Neuropsychological,Tests, Neuropsychological,Tower of London Test,Neuropsychologic Test,Test, Cognitive,Testing, Cognitive,Testing, Neuropsychological,Tests, Cognitive
D005260 Female Females
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly
D000849 Anomia A language dysfunction characterized by the inability to name people and objects that are correctly perceived. The individual is able to describe the object in question, but cannot provide the name. This condition is associated with lesions of the dominant hemisphere involving the language areas, in particular the TEMPORAL LOBE. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p484) Aphasia, Amnesic,Aphasia, Anomic,Aphasia, Nominal,Color Anomia,Dysnomia,Anomic Dysphasia,Nominal Dysphasia,Amnesic Aphasia,Anomia, Color,Anomias, Color,Anomic Aphasia,Anomic Dysphasias,Color Anomias,Dysnomias,Dysphasia, Anomic,Dysphasia, Nominal,Dysphasias, Anomic,Dysphasias, Nominal,Nominal Aphasia,Nominal Dysphasias
D001037 Aphasia A cognitive disorder marked by an impaired ability to comprehend or express language in its written or spoken form. This condition is caused by diseases which affect the language areas of the dominant hemisphere. Clinical features are used to classify the various subtypes of this condition. General categories include receptive, expressive, and mixed forms of aphasia. Aphasia, Acquired,Dysphasia,Word Deafness,Alogia,Anepia,Aphasia, Ageusic,Aphasia, Auditory Discriminatory,Aphasia, Commisural,Aphasia, Functional,Aphasia, Global,Aphasia, Graphomotor,Aphasia, Intellectual,Aphasia, Mixed,Aphasia, Post-Ictal,Aphasia, Post-Traumatic,Aphasia, Progressive,Aphasia, Semantic,Aphasia, Syntactical,Dejerine-Lichtheim Phenomenon,Dysphasia, Global,Lichtheim's Sign,Logagnosia,Logamnesia,Logasthenia,Acquired Aphasia,Ageusic Aphasia,Ageusic Aphasias,Alogias,Anepias,Aphasia, Post Ictal,Aphasia, Post Traumatic,Aphasias, Commisural,Auditory Discriminatory Aphasia,Auditory Discriminatory Aphasias,Commisural Aphasia,Commisural Aphasias,Deafness, Word,Dejerine Lichtheim Phenomenon,Discriminatory Aphasia, Auditory,Discriminatory Aphasias, Auditory,Functional Aphasia,Functional Aphasias,Global Aphasia,Global Aphasias,Global Dysphasia,Global Dysphasias,Graphomotor Aphasia,Graphomotor Aphasias,Intellectual Aphasia,Intellectual Aphasias,Lichtheim Sign,Lichtheims Sign,Logagnosias,Logamnesias,Logasthenias,Mixed Aphasia,Mixed Aphasias,Phenomenon, Dejerine-Lichtheim,Post-Ictal Aphasia,Post-Ictal Aphasias,Post-Traumatic Aphasia,Post-Traumatic Aphasias,Progressive Aphasia,Progressive Aphasias,Semantic Aphasia,Semantic Aphasias,Sign, Lichtheim's,Syntactical Aphasia,Syntactical Aphasias
D001039 Aphasia, Broca An aphasia characterized by impairment of expressive LANGUAGE (speech, writing, signs) and relative preservation of receptive language abilities (i.e., comprehension). This condition is caused by lesions of the motor association cortex in the FRONTAL LOBE (BROCA AREA and adjacent cortical and white matter regions). Agrammatism,Aphasia, Motor,Aphasia, Nonfluent,Broca Aphasia,Dysphasia, Broca,Agrammatic Broca Aphasia,Agrammatic Broca's Aphasia,Aphasia, Anterior,Aphasia, Ataxic,Aphasia, Expressive,Aphasia, Frontocortical,Dysphasia, Broca's,Verbal Aphasia Syndrome,Agrammatic Broca Aphasias,Agrammatic Broca's Aphasias,Agrammatic Brocas Aphasia,Anterior Aphasia,Anterior Aphasias,Aphasia Syndrome, Verbal,Aphasia Syndromes, Verbal,Aphasia, Agrammatic Broca,Aphasia, Agrammatic Broca's,Aphasias, Agrammatic Broca,Aphasias, Agrammatic Broca's,Aphasias, Anterior,Aphasias, Ataxic,Aphasias, Broca,Aphasias, Frontocortical,Ataxic Aphasia,Ataxic Aphasias,Broca Aphasia, Agrammatic,Broca Aphasias,Broca Aphasias, Agrammatic,Broca Dysphasia,Broca's Aphasia, Agrammatic,Broca's Aphasias, Agrammatic,Broca's Dysphasia,Dysphasia, Brocas,Expressive Aphasia,Frontocortical Aphasia,Frontocortical Aphasias,Motor Aphasia,Nonfluent Aphasia,Syndrome, Verbal Aphasia,Syndromes, Verbal Aphasia,Verbal Aphasia Syndromes
D001288 Attention Focusing on certain aspects of current experience to the exclusion of others. It is the act of heeding or taking notice or concentrating. Focus of Attention,Selective Attention,Social Attention,Attention Focus,Attention, Selective,Attention, Social,Selective Attentions

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