Neuropragmatic Speech-Language Deficits Specific To Speech Act Type Following Left-Hemispheric Lesion

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Neuropragmatic Speech-Language Deficits Specific To Speech Act Type Following Left-Hemispheric Lesion Friedemann Pulvermuller1, 2*, Felix R. Dreyer1, Guglielmo Lucchese1, Verena Büscher1, Saskia Millrose1, Lena Meissner1, Valerie Keller1, Bettina Mohr3 and Benjamin Stahl1 1 Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Philosophy, Germany 2 Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Germany 3 Charite Universitätsmedizin, CBF, Psychiatry, Germany Clinical reports have long suggested that the ability of patients with post-stroke aphasia to use and understand words and sentences may strongly depend on context and communicative purpose. One of the first key observations indicating a role of communicative context for producing linguistic forms was Baillarger’s case of a woman who could not ‘name’ her daughter but had no problem to use the name for expressing her regret, by saying: ‘My dear little Jacqueline, I even don’t know your name anymore’ (Baillarger, 1865). Recent evidence from cognitive neuroscience show that the use of the same linguistic form in different communicative contexts is accompanied by different patterns of brain activation reflecting communicative function, thus suggesting that specific speech act types are supported by specific brain mechanisms (Egorova, Shtyrov, & Pulvermüller, 2016; Pulvermüller, Moseley, Egorova, Shebani, & Boulenger, 2014). However, causal effects of communicative context and speech-act dependence of aphasics’ linguistic performance have not so far been demonstrated by well-controlled experiments. Here, we investigate whether aphasic patients’ structural-linguistic impairments to use words are influenced by communicative context. 30 patients with post-stroke aphasia due to left-perisylvian lesions were tested using a new test (Action Communication Test, ACT), which contrasts the abilities to use words and phrases for confrontation naming of objects and for requesting objects from a partner. Word and picture materials were matched for physical, psycholinguistic and psychological features between naming and requesting conditions and counterbalanced across subjects. 17 patients tended to perform better for one of the speech act types compared with the other. 7 patients showed pronounced and significant performance differences between speech act categories (3 naming > requesting; 4 requesting > naming). The double dissociation between assertive naming and directive requesting was unrelated to target objects, linguistic materials or socio-economic features of the patients. Lesion maps showed overall larger lesions in the patients with predominant naming deficit compared with the request-focused group, but no clear anatomical dissociation. These results show that the embedding of language structures in action and communicative interaction contexts can significantly influence language performance in aphasic patients. The observed double dissociations between the abilities to perform assertive (naming) and directive speech acts (requesting) call for linguistic models integrating structural language deficits with functional communication. Speech-act specific impairments make it evident that linguistic-pragmatic analysis of left-hemispheric language deficits is important for obtaining a more complete picture of the nature of aphasia and for improved planning of therapy of speech, language and communication. References Baillarger, J. C. F. (1865). Signification physiologique et pathologique de l'aphasie. Gaz Med, Paris, 3, 328-347. Egorova, N., Shtyrov, Y., & Pulvermüller, F. (2016). Brain basis of communicative actions in language. Neuroimage, 125, 857-867. Pulvermüller, F., Moseley, R., Egorova, N., Shebani, Z., & Boulenger, V. (2014). Motor cognition - motor semantics: Action-perception theory of cognitive and communicative cortical function. Neuropsychologia, 55, 71-84. Keywords: communicative action, speech act, Brain Mapping, category-specific semantic disorders, category-specific pragmaitc deficit, Neuropragmatics, Post-stroke aphasia Conference: 54th Annual Academy of Aphasia Meeting, Llandudno, United Kingdom, 16 Oct - 18 Oct, 2016. Presentation Type: Platform Sessions Topic: Academy of Aphasia Citation: Pulvermuller F, Dreyer FR, Lucchese G, Büscher V, Millrose S, Meissner L, Keller V, Mohr B and Stahl B (2016). Neuropragmatic Speech-Language Deficits Specific To Speech Act Type Following Left-Hemispheric Lesion. Front. Psychol. Conference Abstract: 54th Annual Academy of Aphasia Meeting. doi: 10.3389/conf.fpsyg.2016.68.00037 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 26 Apr 2016; Published Online: 15 Aug 2016. * Correspondence: Prof. Friedemann Pulvermuller, Freie Universität Berlin, Department of Philosophy, Berlin, Berlin, 14195, Germany, friedemann.pulvermuller@fu-berlin.de Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Friedemann Pulvermuller Felix R Dreyer Guglielmo Lucchese Verena Büscher Saskia Millrose Lena Meissner Valerie Keller Bettina Mohr Benjamin Stahl Google Friedemann Pulvermuller Felix R Dreyer Guglielmo Lucchese Verena Büscher Saskia Millrose Lena Meissner Valerie Keller Bettina Mohr Benjamin Stahl Google Scholar Friedemann Pulvermuller Felix R Dreyer Guglielmo Lucchese Verena Büscher Saskia Millrose Lena Meissner Valerie Keller Bettina Mohr Benjamin Stahl PubMed Friedemann Pulvermuller Felix R Dreyer Guglielmo Lucchese Verena Büscher Saskia Millrose Lena Meissner Valerie Keller Bettina Mohr Benjamin Stahl Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.