Pictorial and Graphemic Processing in Fluent Aphasia

Abstract

Some research suggests that people with aphasia may have deficits in processing pictorial materials; other studies suggest this is contradictory. Moreover, it is not known how these potential deficits compare to deficits in graphemic processing. The purpose of this study was to examine pictorial processing in individuals with fluent aphasia, and how it compares to their graphemic processing. Three people with fluent aphasia were administered three computer based expectation tasks. Participants were required to determine if the final stimulus in a sequence of four was congruent or incongruent with the preceding three stimuli. Two tasks were administered, one using simple object pictures, and the other using pictorial action scenes. A corresponding graphemic condition was also administered that was composed of category words. The dependant variables analyzed were percent correct and reaction time. Overall, the participants performed more accurately on both pictorial conditions as compared to the graphemic condition. Contrasting reaction time and accuracy patterns are noted for each type of fluent aphasia represented in the study. It is necessary to investigate the pictographic competency of each individual with aphasia to determine relative strengths and weaknesses. It appears that in some people with aphasia, language is not the only modality to suffer damage following a stroke. Investigation of therapeutic uses for pictographs and other nonverbal materials may provide an opportunity to reduce frustration associated with other modalities such as reading, writing, and verbal comprehension in people with fluent aphasia.