Action Naming Research Articles

The Impact of Lexical-semantic Impairment on Spoken Verb Production in Individuals With Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Although episodic memory is the primary concern in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), other cognitive functions may also be affected, including language. Language impairment in individuals with MCI has been attributed primarily to the breakdown of semantic representations, difficulties in accessing semantic information, and the weakening of executive functions. However, in most prior studies of word processing in individuals with MCI, researchers have used measures focused on noun production. To investigate how verb production tasks might aid in detecting cognitive impairment in individuals with MCI. We compared the performance of 45 individuals with MCI and 45 healthy controls on action naming and action fluency tasks. In the action naming task, the performance of participants with MCI was significantly impaired compared to healthy controls in terms of total score, the number of semantic errors produced, and the use of generic terms. In the action fluency task, participants with MCI produced significantly fewer verbs, fewer clusters, and fewer switches than healthy controls. The results of our study emphasize the utility of verb production tasks in the identification of cognitive impairment in individuals with MCI and provide evidence of the importance of including action naming and action fluency tasks in the assessment of individuals with MCI.

Разум, язык, культура: как сегодня прочитывать концепцию «арабского разума» ал-Джа̄бири

In his four-volume Critique of Arab Reason the late Moroccan philosopher Muḥammad ‘Ābid al-Jābirī (1935–2010) argues that human history witnessed “Greco-European” and “Arab” variants of reason, and not the single one. He challenges the confidence of philosophers in the universality of reason which disclosed itself in the course of European history. Reading al-Jābirī’s theory in Kantian optics will prove fruitful in view of significant number of observations accumulated in Arabic philosophical studies and directly related to the question of the type of rationality that grounds Arab-Muslim culture. The Arabic linguistic tradition bases itself not on the being of substance but on the flux of action. The indivisible segment of the Arabic speech is the flow of sound between the two “sides” (ḥ arf, pl. ḥ urūf). The copulative function ensures the gluing of the subject and predicate into a single statement due to the action of “leaning” (isnād) between them, which excludes the use of the “to be”-like copula and removes “being” from the list of the fundamental metaphysical categories. All Arabic words, with few exceptions, are “branches” growing from “roots” represented by names of actions. The “root – branches” (’aṣl – furū‘) model, developed by the representatives of the Arabic linguistic tradition and Islamic jurists, explains the diversity of Islamic culture which allows for direct contradictions, legitimizing them by tracing down to a single “root”, which contrasts with the law of contradiction fundamental to European rationality. Islamic ethics is concerned not with the moral perfection of a single substantial individual, but with maintaining a network of interactions between human being and God and between members of society, constituting society not as a hierarchy of strata and classes, but as multiple networks of interactions. The concept of the “Arab reason” by al-Jābirī, read in Kantian optics on the basis of the achievements of philosophical Arabic studies, allows to substantiate the hypothesis of the plurality of types of rationality developed through the history of humankind.

Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Action Naming in Aphasia Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Anomia, characterized by difficulty in word retrieval, particularly action verbs, poses a significant challenge in post-stroke aphasia. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has gained attention for language processing investigations and interventions. This systematic review explores the potential of rTMS as a modality to address action-verb deficits in post-stroke aphasia. We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, CINAHL via Ebsco and Web of Science in February 2024 for English articles (1996-2024). Eligible studies involved post-stroke aphasia action naming rehabilitation with rTMS. In some of these studies, rTMS was combined with speech-language therapy. In total, 10 studies were included in this systematic review. These articles highlight the potential of rTMS in improving verb retrieval deficits. While significant improvements may not be evident, notable progress both before and after intervention is observed in this review. However, it also underscores the need for further research to enhance language recovery for individuals with post-stroke aphasia.

The cortical representation of transitivity: Insights from tractography-based inhibitory nTMS

Navigated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (nTMS) is commonly used to causally identify cortical regions involved in language processing. Combining tractography with nTMS has been shown to increase induced error rates by targeting stimulation of cortical terminations of white matter fibers. According to functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data, bilateral cortical areas connected by the arcuate fasciculus (AF) have been implicated in the processing of transitive compared to unergative verbs. To test this connection between transitivity and bilateral perisylvian regions, we administered a tractography-based inhibitory nTMS protocol during action naming of finite transitive (The man reads) and unergative (The man sails) verbs. After tracking the left and right AF, we stimulated the cortical terminations of the tract in frontal, parietal and temporal regions in 20 neurologically healthy native speakers of German. Results revealed that nTMS induced more errors during transitive compared to unergative verb naming when stimulating the left (vs right) AF terminations. This effect was specific to the left temporal terminations of the AF, whereas no differences between the two verb types were identified when stimulating inferior parietal and frontal AF terminations. Induced errors for transitive verbs over left temporal terminations mostly manifested as access errors (i.e., hesitations). Given the inhibitory nature of our nTMS protocol, these results suggest that temporal regions of the left hemisphere play a crucial role in argument structure processing. Our findings align with previous data on the role of left posterior temporal regions in language processing and by providing further evidence from a language production experiment using tractography-based inhibitory nTMS.

Tango and physiotherapy interventions in Parkinson’s disease: a pilot study on efficacy outcomes on motor and cognitive skills

Pharmacological treatments in Parkinson’s disease (PD), albeit effective in alleviating many motor symptoms, have limited effects in non-motor signatures as cognitive impairment, as well as in other aspects included postural instability. Consequently, complementary interventions are nowadays a prerogative of clinical practice managing PD symptomatology. In this pilot longitudinal study, we recruited twenty-four PD patients participating in one of two interventions: adapted Argentine Tango or group-based physiotherapy. Participants underwent a motor and neuropsychological evaluation before and after four months of activities, carried out twice a week. We found a general stabilization of motor and cognitive abilities, with significant improvements in several motor skills, mainly pertaining to static and dynamic balance, similarly in both groups. At cognitive level, we measured a significant improvement in both groups in the Action Naming task. Interestingly, only PD patients in the Tango group improved their performance in the test measuring facial emotion recognition. These findings highlight the crucial role that physical activities have in the stabilization and slowdown of disease’s progression in PD. They further highlight the beneficial effects of a group-based physical intervention, which, especially in the case of Tango, could lead to behavioral ameliorations in domains other than the motor, such as emotion recognition.

Are the criteria for PD-MCI diagnosis comprehensive? A Machine Learning study with modified criteria

BackgroundMild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD-MCI) includes deficits in different cognitive domains, and one domain to explore for neurocognitive impairment following the DSM-V is social cognition. However, this domain is not included in current criteria for PD-MCI diagnosis. Moreover, tests vary across studies. It is, therefore, crucial to optimize cognitive assessment in PD-MCI. We aimed to do so by using Machine Learning. Methods275 PD patients were included. Four cognitive batteries were created: two Standard ones (Levels I and II), applying current criteria and “traditional” tests; two Alternative ones (Levels I and II), which incorporated a test of social cognition. These batteries were included in the Random Forest (RF) classifier. To assess RF performance, the AUC was considered, and the Variable Importance Index was estimated to understand the contribution of each test in PD-MCI classification. ResultsStandard Level I and II showed an AUC of 0.852 and 0.892, while Alternative Level I and II showed an AUC of 0.898 and of 0.906. Variable Importance Index revealed that TMT B-A, Ekman test, RAVLT-IR, MoCA, and Action Naming were tests that most contributed to PD-MCI classification. ConclusionThe Alternative level I assessment demonstrated a similar classification capacity to the Standard level II assessment. This finding suggests that in the cognitive assessment of PD patients, it is crucial to consider the most affected cognitive domains in this clinical population, including social cognition. Taken together, these results suggest to revise current criteria for the diagnosis of PD-MCI.

Words with the root <i>жи(ть)</i> in biological and medical lexicon

The article describes and analyzes words with the ancient root жи(ть), which have undergone terminologicalisation. Nowadays, the focus of the research is the issue of the terminological vocabulary influence on the development of language as a whole. In order to reveal the semantic potential of the words with the root жи(ть), we studied these words in biological and medical terminology. The subject of our study is focused on the semantics of these words, since biology studies different aspects of life of living beings, medicine is concerned with healing people, and the words we are interested in denote signs, actions and processes related to all animate things. The research material is based on dictionaries of biological (botanical, zoological) and medical terms, explanatory dictionaries of the Russian language, which reveal the semantic scope of the words of interest and provide interpretations of their meanings. The research was carried out using the descriptive method and the method of dictionary definitions. We considered the word-forming and semantic features of the words with the root жи(ть) serving as names of different scientific objects (plants and animals), phenomena, features, properties, methods, actions and processes using the material of biological and medical terminology. The article describes the interaction and interpenetration of common and terminological words and identifies two-component terminological word-combinations, in which words with the given root are used, to define objects at the level of species nomination. As a result of the study, we found more than one hundred medical and biological terms with the root жи(ть); determined terminological word-formation chains; highlighted the terminological homonymy and sub-spheres in biological and medical terminology (botanical, zoological, entomological and pharmaceutical), in forensic medicine, space medicine, etc. We have come to the conclusion that the words with the root жи(ть) are used to nominate plants, living organisms, processes in living organisms, biological formations, abilities of living organisms and diseases.

Shave, shear, shred, or cut: PPA variant differentially impacts erroneous responses produced in a confrontation naming test of verbs

ABSTRACT Background All common variants of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) exhibit naming deficits. Variants are distinguished by relative deficits in repetition (logopenic; lvPPA), object knowledge (semantic; svPPA), and agrammatism or articulation (non-fluent/agrammatic; nfavPPA; Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011). The Hopkins Action Naming Assessment (HANA) is a 30-item verb naming task that can distinguish between variants (Stockbridge et al., 2021). Item-level accuracy is driven by target verb frequency, semantic information density, and conceptual concreteness of the target word (Stockbridge, Venezia, et al., 2022). Aims In this investigation, we examined whether word frequency, semantic density, concreteness, and age of acquisition (AoA) also shaped the incorrect responses patients provided. We hypothesised that error responses would vary in these dimensions as a function of PPA variant. Methods & Procedures The HANA was administered to 271 participants with PPA, resulting in 443 total administrations and 4,529 analysable error responses. Standardised differences between error and target responses for frequency, density, concreteness, and AoA were calculated and averaged for each patient. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) for correlated samples was used to compare variants and planned post-hoc analyses examined the effect of variant on each response quality. Outcomes & Results Participants were similar in age, sex, handedness, and education. There was a significant interaction between PPA variant and the standardised mean differences in lexical qualities (Pillai’s Trace = 0.11, F(9, 747) = 3.19, p < 0.001). Univariate ANOVAs revealed significant differences in the semantic density of error responses relative to the target (F(3) = 7.91, p < 0.001, ηP 2= 0.09), as individuals with lvPPA tended to produce error responses with greater semantic density than the target when compared to the words produced by individuals with nfavPPA (mean difference = 1.45, 95%CI = [0.60,2.29], p < 0.001; Figure 1). PPA variants also differed in the concreteness of their error responses relative to the target (F(3) = 5.99, p<0.001, ηP 2 = 0.07), as error responses produced by individuals with nfavPPA were significantly more concrete than those with lvPPA (mean difference = 0.08, 95%CI = [0.02,0.13], p = 0.003) or svPPA (mean difference=0.08, 95%CI = [0.02,0.14], p = 0.007). Variants did not differ significantly in AoA or frequency of responses relative to their targets. All variants tended to produce more frequent words with a lower AoA than the target verb. Conclusions Error responses tended to be more semantically dense, more concrete, higher frequency, and younger AoA than the target verb. However, PPA variants differed significantly in the extent to which these broader trends held true. These distinct patterns may be included as part of a larger diagnostic picture that to distinguish among PPA variants.

Effectiveness of French Phonological Components Analysis in individuals with chronic aphasia.

Over 50% of individuals with aphasia face ongoing word-finding issues. Studies have found phonologically oriented therapy helpful for English speakers, but this has not yet been studied in French. It is essential to assess the effectiveness of such a therapy in French, considering the distinct linguistic typologies between both languages, which may impact the outcomes of phonologically oriented interventions. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of French Phonological Component Analysis (Fr-PCA) on communication skills of individuals with chronic aphasia and the impact of individual factors on treatment success. Eighteen individuals with chronic aphasia received 15 h of Fr-PCA therapy over 5 weeks. Naming accuracy for treated and untreated words was measured before and after therapy, as well as at 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Secondary outcome measures included standardized tests measuring within-level generalization (object and action naming) and across-level generalization (repetition, verbal fluency, oral comprehension, communication effectiveness reported by a frequent communication partner). Fr-PCA led to improved accuracy for treated (17 participants out of 18) and untreated words (9 participants out of 18), with gains maintained at 6-month follow-up (7 participants out of 10 for treated and 6 participants out of 10 for untreated), and generalization to communication effectiveness reported by a frequent communication partner (11 participants out of 16). Age, apraxia of speech severity and initial anomia severity impacted therapy gains. Though more research is needed, results suggest Fr-PCA benefits French individuals living with aphasia. Identifying individual factors influencing therapy gains could enable clinicians to improve therapy tailoring. What is already known on this subject Phonological Component Analysis (PCA) improves naming of treated and untreated items in individuals living with aphasia. There is also evidence supporting long-lasting benefits following PCA. However, PCA has never been studied in French, a language presenting with a different linguistic typology than English, and we know little as to which individual factors can influence PCA therapy benefits. What this paper adds to existing knowledge Through group-level analyses on both personalized sets and standardized tests, this study shows that PCA constitutes an effective therapy protocol for francophone individuals living with aphasia. The gains are measured on treated and untreated items and generalized to levels other than naming, such as communication effectiveness. Individual factors such as age, initial anomia severity and apraxia of speech severity influence therapy outcomes. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? There is now evidence supporting PCA in French, a language with strong morphological-phonological interactions. Furthermore, when working with individuals living with aphasia and severe anomia or apraxia of speech, gains can still be made, but might be longer to attain.

Speech and lexico-semantic errors during direct cortical stimulation mapping of the language-dominant hemisphere: effects of object and action naming.

In this retrospective study, the authors aimed to establish the stereotactically defined probability distribution for speech (i.e., anarthria, speech arrest) and lexico-semantic errors (i.e., anomia) through direct cortical stimulation (DCS) by using two tasks: action naming and object naming. They also analyzed the patterns of interindividual variability in the localization of the language sites involved, and investigated whether any patient or lesion location factors were associated with greater variability. Eighty-one Italian-speaking patients who underwent awake surgery between 2010 and 2021 for low- and high-grade gliomas in eloquent areas of the language-dominant hemisphere were entered in the analyses. The intraoperative DCS protocol included automatic speech tasks, object naming, and action naming. The position of the tags, as depicted on the intraoperative video or photograph, was transposed into Montreal Neurological Institute space. Subsequently, a 2D scatterplot and cluster analysis were performed. Associations between various clinical and radiological characteristics and the quantity of positive stimulated sites were determined by univariate analyses using binary logistic regression. Associated variables (p < 0.2) were included in stepwise multivariate logistic regression with backward elimination (p < 0.05). A total of 1380 cortical sites were stimulated, with a positive response in 511 cases (37%). Most anarthric errors were triggered when stimulating the left precentral gyrus, and most speech arrest errors were elicited when stimulating the left posterior inferior frontal gyrus. Anomias were found in the left inferior frontal gyrus and in the posterior part of the left temporal lobe for object naming. DCS to the left dorsal premotor cortex elicited anomic errors for action naming. Anomias were also elicited during DCS to the left posterior temporal lobe, with both object and action naming. The distribution of speech and lexico-semantic errors is in line with the current literature. The action-naming results are new and mostly involve the dorsal premotor cortex. These findings stress the importance of maximizing the use of different language tasks during surgery, because even when looking for the same type of errors, different tasks may be better suited to map specific brain regions. DCS with action and object naming identifies more positive sites than object naming alone.

Діалектна лексика в романі Марії Матіос «Мами»

The problem raised in the article is relevant in the context of the representation of dialect vocabulary in the artistic discourse as an element of reflecting the color of the depicted territory and characters' speech, reproduction of their mentality. Despite a number of linguistic studies devoted to the functioning of dialectisms in Maria Matios’ works, the novel “Mothers” (2023) chosen for analysis has not been considered by linguists from the standpoint of the writer’s use of dialect vocabulary in it. The purpose of the article is to characterize the dialect vocabulary in the writer's novel under study as an important component of Maria Matios’ idiostyle and a sourse of the spoken language in the dialects of the southwestern dialect.&#x0D; Maria Matios’ new novel “Mothers” with the subtitle “Drama in six acts” continues the tradition of using dialect vocabulary, which was started by the writer in other prose works, presented both in footnotes (63 lexical units) and in the text of the work itself, mainly in the speech of the characters. The dialect lexemes used in the novel are diverse in terms of part-language affiliation, although verbs with different semantics dominate among them, nouns and adjectives are less common, and adverbs are much less common. At the same time, such units are representatives of a number of lexical-semantic groups, the main ones of which are LSG nomens to designate the names of actions and processes, names of persons according to various characteristics, everyday vocabulary, and abstract vocabulary.&#x0D; Analysis of a number of lexicographical works in which the lexical richness of the South-Western ethnolinguistic continuum is represented, gives grounds for asserting the presence of dialect lexemes used in the novel, and the frequent preservation of their semantics in the modern dialects of the specified area, which confirms the opinion that the writer possesses her mother tongue dialectal speech and skillfully weaves colloquial words into the linguistic fabric of the prose text&#x0D; At the same time, many other phonetic, accentuation, morphological, and phraseological dialectisms revealed in the novel under study can be used for further scientific studies of the dialect system presented in the drama in six acts. Comparative studies of other prose works by this writer are supposed to identify common and different tendencies in the use of dialect elements. The issue is topical, as this is a significant component of Maria Matios’ idiostyle which makes her works recognizabl.

Neuropsychological Rehabilitation Improves Memory and Action Naming in Patients With Post-COVID-19 Syndrome.

Post-COVID-19 syndrome (PCS-19) is a condition characterized by both physical and cognitive alterations in patients who have overcome COVID-19. Despite the high incidence of this disorder and the inconveniences it produces to those affected, there are few studies investigating the efficacy of cognitive stimulation in these patients. The aim of this study was to compare two groups of patients with PCS-19. One of them was treated with neuropsychological intervention for 6 months, whereas the other did not receive treatment. Both groups shared similar clinical characteristics and cognitive profiles. The study included 15 participants. Eight (seven women and one man, with a mean age of 50.13 years) made up the experimental group and received neuropsychological rehabilitation sessions once a week with the aim of recovering or compensating for their impaired functions. The control group consisted of seven patients (six women and one man, with a mean age of 52.86 years) who did not undergo neuropsychological rehabilitation sessions. The neuropsychological assessment protocol included tests for all cognitive domains. In comparison with the assessment prior to the neuropsychological intervention, significant differences were found in the experimental group both in verbal memory and in the action naming task. As for the control group, improvements in action fluency performance were observed. Neither group showed significant improvement in pre- versus posttest Stroop scores. However, the control group did perform higher than the treatment group in the final assessment. Despite the small sample size, our results suggest that patients with PCS-19 may benefit from neuropsychological rehabilitation, as it may help them to improve several cognitive functions that do not recover spontaneously.

Anomia: Deciphering Functional Neuroanatomy in Primary Progressive Aphasia Variants.

Naming decline is one of the most common symptoms of primary progressive aphasia (PPA). Most studies on anomia in PPA are performed without taking into account PPA variants, especially for action naming. Only limited data are available for the neuroanatomical basis of anomia considering differences in the pathogenesis of PPAs. The aim of our study is to investigate the associations between anomia severity for both noun and verb naming and gray matter (GM) atrophy, as well as accompanying functional connectivity (FC) changes in three PPA variants. A total of 17 patients with non-fluent (nfvPPA), 11 with semantic (svPPA), and 9 with logopenic (lvPPA) PPA variants were included in the study and underwent cognitive/naming assessments and brain MRIs. Voxel-based morphometry was performed to evaluate GM volume. A resting-state functional MRI was applied to investigate FC changes in the identified GM areas. The study shows that different brain regions are involved in naming decline in each PPA variant with a predominantly temporal lobe involvement in svPPA, parietal lobe involvement in lvPPA, and frontal lobe involvement in nfvPPA. Separate data for object and action naming in PPA variants are provided. The obtained results mainly correspond to the current understanding of language processing and indicate that the evaluation of language impairments is preferable for each PPA variant separately. A further analysis of larger cohorts of patients is necessary to confirm these preliminary results.

Mapping action naming in patients with gliomas: The influence of transitivity

ObjectivePatients with left perisylvian gliomas might undergo language mapping with nTMS in preparation for awake brain surgery. Action naming is an important addition to the presurgical language mapping protocol. However, it has not yet been determined whether specific action stimuli can influence mapping outcomes in terms of number and/or localisation of induced errors. MethodsWe investigated this question by employing tractography-based nTMS language mapping of the left arcuate fasciculus (AF) with two types of verbs: transitive and intransitive. Data were collected from 22 patients with a left perisylvian glioma. ResultsOur results demonstrated that nTMS induced a higher error rate with transitive rather than intransitive verbs, specifically during stimulation of the posterior temporal terminations of the left AF (transitive error rate: 8.3%; intransitive error rate: 4.8%). The effect was absent when gliomas displaced the temporal terminations of the AF. Also, nTMS triggered a higher number of semantic errors with transitive (vs intransitive) actions during stimulation of the posterior temporal terminations of the AF (semantic error rate – transitives: 3.3%; semantic error rate – intransitives: 0%). ConclusionOur work highlights that clinical outcomes of language mapping with nTMS are affected by the choice of linguistic stimuli. Transitive verbs may be suited to achieve optimal nTMS mapping outcomes in posterior temporal areas of the left AF in this population. Displacement of white matter terminations due to the tumor can affect these results, and semantic errors may indicate core language processes that can be mapped when administering transitive verbs.

Identifying the loci of lexical semantic breakdown in aphasia and the choice of therapy techniques

Word finding would be more challenging in a person with aphasia because of a breakdown in lexical semantics. Words may be difficult to locate if they are not stored appropriately or readily available. In addition, the inability to access language could be the result of a weakness in either the lemma node, leading to verbal paraphasia, or the phoneme retrieval, leading to phonemic paraphasia. Commonly used to avoid this lexical semantic gap, cueing allows for clearer communication. SFA and PCA methods are also used to aid in the search for appropriate words. The study was carried out on persons with anomic aphasia. After determining the source of the lexical semantic breakdown, the goal of this research was to determine an appropriate therapeutic strategy. There were 12 people with anomic aphasia who participated in the research. Tasks tapping phoneme judgment and semantic judgment were given to the participants. Two individuals withdrew out of the study, while four subjects fared poorly on PCA (group 1). Six subjects performed poorly on the semantic judgment test (group 2). Training for Group 1 used PCA, while training for Group 2 used SFA. After training, participants' ability to recall names and verbs was evaluated using the Boston Naming Test and the Action Naming Test. After training, participants in both groups showed considerable improvement on the retests of the naming and judgment tasks.

Goal Recognition as a Deep Learning Task: The GRNet Approach

Recognising the goal of an agent from a trace of observations is an important task with many applications. The state-of-the-art approach to goal recognition (GR) relies on the application of automated planning techniques. We study an alternative approach, called GRNet, where GR is formulated as a classification task addressed by machine learning. GRNet is primarily aimed at solving GR instances more accurately and more quickly by learning how to solve them in a given domain, which is specified by a set of propositions and a set of action names. The goal classification instances in the domain are solved by a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). The only information required as input of the trained RNN is a trace of action labels, each one indicating just the name of an observed action. A run of the RNN processes a trace of observed actions to compute how likely it is that each domain proposition is part of the agent's goal, for the problem instance under consideration. These predictions are then aggregated to choose one of the candidate goals. An experimental analysis confirms that GRNet achieves good performance in terms of both goal classification accuracy and runtime, obtaining better results w.r.t. a state-of-the-art GR system over the considered benchmarks. Moreover, such a state-of-the-art system and GRNet can be combined achieving higher performance than with each of the two integrated systems alone.

"Ukrainian scientific word usage" tutorial - application of the ukrainian language way of thinking tools

Problem. For four centuries the attempts were made to take away the language from Ukrainians by various means. The structure and logic of the Ukrainian language was destroyed during the Soviet period. Ukrainian language was completely assimilated to the Russian language. A language of Ukrainian-language stickers for Russian words has been created. The features of such an artificial Ukrainian language of the Russian way of thinking, which prevailed in the Ukrainian SSR have remained to this day. Therefore, it is important and timely to restore the structure of the language. Goal. The purpose is to acquaint the reader with the contents of the "Ukrainian Scientific Vocabulary" tutorial, which develops the principles of Ukrainian vocabulary according to the current standards of Ukraine. Methodology. Solving the tasks is based on observing the five main rules of word usage in accordance with the property by which the Ukrainian language, unlike Russian, is able to distinguish the names of actions, events, as well as their consequences, not by verbs only, but also by verbal nouns. Results. A number of words, word combinations and sentences are proposed in accordance with the latest standardized rules, which contributes to the improvement of the Ukrainian scientific style of speech and thinking. Originality/Novelty. The use of words and word combinations in accordance with the five main rules of word usage contributes to the restoration of the language structure and the development of the Ukrainian way of thinking. Practical value. The use of words and word combinations in accordance with the five main rules of word usage facilitates the perception and understanding of the text in use.

Action naming deficits in Parkinson’s disease: the role of semantic complexity

ABSTRACT Background Previous studies have suggested that individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have difficulty retrieving verbs and nouns. Among the factors that have been proposed to contribute to this verb retrieval difficulty is the semantic properties of the verbs. Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the verb and noun naming abilities in Greek speaking individuals with PD. Furthermore, the effect of semantic complexity on verb retrieval ability was explored. Specifically, two verb categories were investigated mainly, instrumental verbs as semantically heavy and non-instrumental verbs that are considered semantically light verbs. Methods and Procedures Participants were 24 non-demented individuals with PD matched for age and education with 15 healthy control participants. Word retrieval abilities for nouns and verbs were evaluated using the Greek Object and Action Test (GOAT), a picture-based assessment of single word retrieval. Outcomes and Results The results revealed that participants with PD performed significantly worse on naming verbs and nouns compared to healthy controls. Specifically, the PD group had a greater difficulty in retrieving verbs compared to nouns. In addition, a positive effect of instrumentality on verb retrieval abilities was observed. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that semantic complexity may play a critical role in verb retrieval abilities in PD. Furthermore, verbs related to upper limb movement with the inclusion of instrumental verbs may have a facilitatory effect on lexical retrieval. This finding emphasizes the need for the inclusion of the evaluation of different verb categories for naming during the initial clinical assessment of cognitive-linguistic abilities of patients with PD.

Comparisons of Online Assessment Platforms for Action Naming Tests in Healthy Young and Middle-aged Adults

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of action naming tests when using a chatbot-based online platform. The performance of healthy young adults and healthy middle-aged adults on action naming tests was compared between online assessment platforms.Methods: A total of 81 participants were included in this study (40 young adults, 41 middle-aged adults). Participants were divided into two groups according to the online assessment platforms, 40 individuals (20 young adults, 20 middle-aged adults) receiving the action naming tests via Zoom and 41 individuals (20 young adults, 21 middle-aged adults) via chatbot.Results: The results indicated that there was no significant difference in action naming performance across online assessment platforms. In addition, young adults showed statistically higher performance compared to the middle-aged adults. There was a significant main effect of verb argument structure on action naming performance, with one- and two-place verbs having a higher correct response rate than three-place verbs.Conclusion: Although the younger group performed better than the middle-aged group, there were no significant differences in action naming performance between chatbot and Zoom groups, suggesting that chatbot-based action naming tests can be used interchangeably with the established online platforms. Accordingly, it is expected that we will be able to provide appropriate online language assessment services for each client in a future clinical setting.

Item Response Theory Modeling of the Verb Naming Test.

Item response theory (IRT) is a modern psychometric framework with several advantageous properties as compared with classical test theory. IRT has been successfully used to model performance on anomia tests in individuals with aphasia; however, all efforts to date have focused on noun production accuracy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the Verb Naming Test (VNT), a prominent test of action naming, can be successfully modeled under IRT and evaluate its reliability. We used responses on the VNT from 107 individuals with chronic aphasia from AphasiaBank. Unidimensionality and local independence, two assumptions prerequisite to IRT modeling, were evaluated using factor analysis and Yen's Q 3 statistic (Yen, 1984), respectively. The assumption of equal discrimination among test items was evaluated statistically via nested model comparisons and practically by using correlations of resulting IRT-derived scores. Finally, internal consistency, marginal and empirical reliability, and conditional reliability were evaluated. The VNT was found to be sufficiently unidimensional with the majority of item pairs demonstrating adequate local independence. An IRT model in which item discriminations are constrained to be equal demonstrated fit equivalent to a model in which unique discrimination parameters were estimated for each item. All forms of reliability were strong across the majority of IRT ability estimates. Modeling the VNT using IRT is feasible, yielding ability estimates that are both informative and reliable. Future efforts are needed to quantify the validity of the VNT under IRT and determine the extent to which it measures the same construct as other anomia tests. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.22329235.