Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery Research Articles

Fenótipo Ampliado do Autismo e Habilidades Pragmáticas em Pais e Mães de Crianças com e sem Transtorno do Espectro Autista

O fenótipo ampliado do autismo (FAA) tem sido definido como traços subclínicos que configuram a expressão fenotípica de uma suscetibilidade genética para o desenvolvimento do Transtorno do Espectro Autista (TEA). A literatura é ainda controversa quanto às dificuldades nas habilidades comunicativo-pragmáticas constituírem uma especificidade do FAA. Assim, este estudo comparou o desempenho de pais e mães de crianças e adolescentes com e sem TEA (N=52) em tarefas de habilidades comunicativo-pragmáticas e indicadores de FAA. Foram aplicados o Broader Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ) e subtestes da Bateria Montreal de Avaliação da Comunicação (Bateria MAC), além da Escala de Inteligência Wechsler (WASI). Os resultados demonstraram que pais de crianças com TEA apresentaram: a) maior dificuldade em linguagem pragmática do BAPQ (U=210.50, p< .005, η2=0.11), ainda que não tenham fechado critério para FAA e b) habilidades comunicativo-pragmáticas (ex.: discurso conversacional, U=118.50, p<.01, η2=0.31; prosódia, U=214.00, p<.005, η2=0.10) inferiores às de pais de crianças sem TEA. Foi ainda verificado que o grupo comparativo (pais de crianças sem TEA) apresentou maiores escores no QI total (U=202.50, p<.005, η2=0.11) e verbal (U=207.50, p<.005, η2=0.12) em relação ao grupo clínico. Conclui-se que: a) habilidades cognitivo-pragmáticas podem ser um aspecto central e provavelmente específico do FAA em familiares de crianças e adolescentes com TEA; b) as diferenças entre os grupos quanto ao QI podem estar relacionadas mais a diferenças em variáveis socioeconômicas do que ao FAA, o que merece ser mais investigado em futuros estudos.

Narrative discourse of young and older brazilian adults associated with demographic factors.

1) Compare the discourse performance between young and older adults from the Brazilian Federal District (DF); 2) Compare the mean discourse performance of participants from the DF with the normative discourse of a population from a different region of the country; 3) Verify whether the variables age, educational level and socioeconomic status and scores on the cognitive, behavioral and functional screening tests were associated with discourse performance. A total of 60 healthy volunteers from the DF, 30 older adults and 30 young adults, were selected. Participants were divided into two subgroups according to educational level: low education and high education. The four narrative discourse subtests of the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery, Brazilian Portuguese version (MAC-BR) were applied to the study sample. Discourse scores of the older adults were statistically higher than those of the young adults. The discourse scores in the high education group were also better than those in the low education group, with statistically significant difference observed in only one of the MAC-BR subtests. Discourse performance was associated with the sociodemographic variable and the scores on the cognitive and functional screening tests. The discourse performance of the DF sample differed from the national normative discourse with statistically significant difference. The discourse performance of older adults from the Brazilian Federal District differed from that of young adults from the same region, as well as from that of older adults from southern Brazil. Discourse performance was associated with several different variables.

Montreal Communication Evaluation Brief Battery - MEC B: reliability and validity.

Search for reliability and validity evidence for the Montreal Communication Evaluation Brief Battery (MEC B) for adults with right brain damage. Three hundred twenty-four healthy adults and 26 adults with right brain damage, aged 19-75 years, with two or more years of education were evaluated with MEC B. The MEC B Battery contains nine tasks that aim to evaluate communicative abilities as discourse, prosody, lexical-semantic and pragmatic process. Two sources of reliability evidence were used: internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and interrater reliability. Construct validity was evaluated comparing the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery (MEC), expanded version and MEC B tasks. Internal consistence was satisfactory and the interrater reliability was considered excellent, as were correlations between MEC Battery and MEC B Battery tasks. The MEC B Battery showed satisfactory reliability and validity evidences. It can be used as outcome measure of intervention programs and assist speech therapists to plan rehabilitation programs.

Age-related differences in conversational discourse abilities A comparative study.

ABSTRACT.Conversational discourse (CD) is among the most complex tasks in everyday life and relies on multiple cognitive domains (communicative and executive abilities). Alterations in discourse comprehension and production are often present in pathological aging. However, there is still a need to identify changes in healthy aging.Objective:This study aimed to compare young and older adults for the frequency of impaired communicative behaviors on a CD task. Performance was scored according to the Complementary Procedure of Conversational Discourse Analysis (CPCDA), developed based on the CD task from the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery.Methods:A total of 95 participants (54 young-adults and 41 older adults) were evaluated. The frequency of communicative behaviors was compared between groups using MANCOVA and Chi-square tests.Results:Young adults showed fewer impairments in expression, pragmatics, cohesion, coherence, comprehension and emotional prosody. Older adults showed higher levels of verbal initiative and had fewer word finding difficulties. Communicative behaviors associated with planning and self-monitoring (e.g. repetition of information and syllabic false starts) appear to be common in the speech of healthy individuals in general.Conclusion:Studies which evaluate both discursive and cognitive skills are required to identify age-related changes. This would allow for the development of screening tools for CD assessment and preventive programs.

Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery--Portuguese version: age and education effects.

To verify age and education effects on communication performance of healthy adults in the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery, Portuguese version (MAC-PT). The sample comprised 90 healthy adults from Portugal, European Portuguese speakers, divided into nine groups according to educational level (4-9, 10-13, and > 13 years of formal schooling) and age (19-40, 41-64, and 65-80 years). The influence of age and education was assessed by comparing mean scores between groups, using a two-way analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni post hoc tests (p ≤ 0.05). The results showed that participants' performance was influenced by age in pragmatic-inferential, discursive, and prosodic tasks. Education had the greatest influence on the performance in all processes evaluated by the MAC-PT. Age and education seem to influence the communicative performance and should be considered in the assessment of neurological patients.

Age and education effects on adults’ performance on the Brazilian version of the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery

Background: Socio-demographic features such as age and education are the strongest influences on cognitive and communicative performance in every culture. However, there are few neuropsychological tests adapted to Brazilian society, culture, and language, especially for evaluating the communication of individuals with right hemisphere damage.Aims: This study was designed to describe age and education effects on the communicative performance of non-brain-damaged Brazilian adults on the Brazilian Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery (MAC Battery), which was created to evaluate components of communication usually overlooked by aphasia tests.Methods & Procedures: The sample was composed of 240 adults, divided into two education and three age groups. The influence of these variables on the Brazilian MAC Battery performance was assessed.Outcomes & Results: Communicative performance is influenced by educational level. Age also partially impacts performance, but to a lesser degree, and there is an interaction between these factors in five tasks.Conclusions: These results are important for the use of this protocol with patients with neurological disorders since education and age will have to be taken into consideration.

Verbal Fluency in Right Brain Damage: Dissociations Among Production Criteria and Duration

This study aimed to verify dissociations in the performance of verbal fluency tasks with different production criteria and duration following vascular right-hemisphere damage. We tested the hypothesis that longer fluency tasks would be more sensitive in identifying deficits in the sample. The relationship between verbal fluency performance and sustained attention was also investigated. Forty adults with vascular right-hemisphere damage were assessed using verbal fluency tasks with three different production criteria (unconstrained, phonemic, and semantic fluencies from the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery). Performance deficits in 1-min and 2-min fluency tasks were calculated (Z score) and compared (chi-square). Results did not suggest a difference in sensitivity between the task lengths in detecting cognitive impairment. However, double dissociations were found, highlighting the contribution of extended verbal fluency tasks to neuropsychological assessment. Analyses also showed that participants exhibited greater levels of impairment in the semantic fluency task. No relationship was identified between performance in sustained attention tasks and verbal fluency tasks, regardless of the latter's duration. The combined use of longer and shorter fluency tasks in the assessment of patients with right brain damage may contribute to the identification of different executive function impairments in this sample.

Communicative processes of individuals with injuries of the right cerebral hemisphere

Objective: This study aimed to profile the language skills of patients with damage to the right cerebral hemisphere attended at the Ibirapuera Unit (Central) of the Association for the Welfare of Handicapped Children - AACD (Associação de Assistência à Criança Deficiente - AACD/Unidade Ibirapuera - Central), and to discover the perceptions of caregivers and patients regarding the presence or absence of language disorders after a stroke. Method: The descriptive study was conducted from July to September of 2009 with 11 adults through the application of the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery (known in Brazil as Bateria MAC) tests, the Questionnaire on Awareness of Difficulties, and the Communicative Disorders Screening on individuals with neurological conditions, direct relatives, and/or caregivers. Results: It was found that 90.9% of patients with injuries of the right cerebral hemisphere had a deficit in at least one of the tests comprising the Bateria MAC assessment of language. Conclusion: Findings showing the patient’s absence of awareness of their linguistic and cognitive deficits are also very important, not only about their daily life activities, but about their agnosia.

Communicative processes of individuals with injuries of the right cerebral hemisphere

Objective: This study aimed to profile the language skills of patients with damage to the right cerebral hemisphere attended at the Ibirapuera Unit (Central) of the Association for the Welfare of Handicapped Children - AACD (Associacao de Assistencia a Crianca Deficiente - AACD/Unidade Ibirapuera - Central), and to discover the perceptions of caregivers and patients regarding the presence or absence of language disorders after a stroke. Method: The descriptive study was conducted from July to September of 2009 with 11 adults through the application of the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery (known in Brazil as Bateria MAC) tests, the Questionnaire on Awareness of Difficulties, and the Communicative Disorders Screening on individuals with neurological conditions, direct relatives, and/or caregivers. Results: It was found that 90.9% of patients with injuries of the right cerebral hemisphere had a deficit in at least one of the tests comprising the Bateria MAC assessment of language. Conclusion: Findings showing the patient’s absence of awareness of their linguistic and cognitive deficits are also very important, not only about their daily life activities, but about their agnosia.

Pragmatic and executive functions in traumatic brain injury and right brain damage: An exploratory comparative study.

ObjectiveTo describe the frequency of pragmatic and executive deficits in right brain damaged (RBD) and in traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients, and to verify possible dissociations between pragmatic and executive functions in these two groups.MethodsThe sample comprised 7 cases of TBI and 7 cases of RBD. All participants were assessed by means of tasks from the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery and executive functions tests including the Trail Making Test, Hayling Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, semantic and phonemic verbal fluency tasks, and working memory tasks from the Brazilian Brief Neuropsychological Assessment Battery NEUPSILIN. Z-score was calculated and a descriptive analysis of frequency of deficits (Z< -1.5) was carried out.ResultsRBD patients presented with deficits predominantly on conversational and narrative discursive tasks, while TBI patients showed a wider spread pattern of pragmatic deficits. Regarding EF, RBD deficits included predominantly working memory and verbal initiation impairment. On the other hand, TBI individuals again exhibited a general profile of executive dysfunction, affecting mainly working memory, initiation, inhibition, planning and switching. Pragmatic and executive deficits were generally associated upon comparisons of RBD patients and TBI cases, except for two simple dissociations: two post-TBI cases showed executive deficits in the absence of pragmatic deficits.DiscussionPragmatic and executive deficits can be very frequent following TBI or vascular RBD. There seems to be an association between these abilities, indicating that although they can co-occur, a cause-consequence relationship cannot be the only hypothesis.

Apresentando um instrumento de avaliação da comunicação à Fonoaudiologia Brasileira: Bateria MAC

an assessment instrument to evaluate communication impairment after right brain damage: the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery, an adapted brazilian version of the original canadian instrument--Protocole Montréal d'Evaluation de la Communication. Instruments that evaluate discursive, pragmatic, lexical-semantic and prosodic impairments are important for the diagnosis of communication disorders which are present in approximately 50% of the individuals with right brain damage. Systematic studies of the communication profile after lesions on this side of the brain have been carried out only during the last two decades. to present the Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery to brazilian speech therapists. the described instrument is an useful tool in the clinic for assessing four processes related to the communicative and linguistic abilities: discursive, pragmatic-inferential, lexical-semantic and prosodic components. It is has been normalized, validated and its reliability has been confirmed. Although this instrument was developed and adapted for diagnosing communication disorders in individuals with right brain damage people, it can also be helpful in investigating communication sequels in traumatic brain injury, dementia, bilateral frontal lesions, left-brain damage, psychopathologies, such as schizophrenia, among others.

Right hemisphere damage: Communication processing in adults evaluated by the Brazilian Protocole MEC - Bateria MAC.

Right-brain-damaged individuals may present discursive, pragmatic, lexical-semantic and/or prosodic disorders.ObjectiveTo verify the effect of right hemisphere damage on communication processing evaluated by the Brazilian version of the Protocole Montréal d’Évaluation de la Communication (Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery) – Bateria Montreal de Avaliação da Comunicação, Bateria MAC, in Portuguese.MethodsA clinical group of 29 right-brain-damaged participants and a control group of 58 non-brain-damaged adults formed the sample. A questionnaire on sociocultural and health aspects, together with the Brazilian MAC Battery was administered.ResultsSignificant differences between the clinical and control groups were observed in the following MAC Battery tasks: conversational discourse, unconstrained, semantic and orthographic verbal fluency, linguistic prosody repetition, emotional prosody comprehension, repetition and production. Moreover, the clinical group was less homogeneous than the control group.ConclusionsA right-brain-damage effect was identified directly, on three communication processes: discursive, lexical-semantic and prosodic processes, and indirectly, on pragmatic process.

Processo de adaptação da bateria Montreal de avaliação da comunicação: bateria MAC - ao português brasileiro

This research aims to present the adaptation of the Montreal d'Evaluation de la Communication - Protocole MEC (Montreal Communication Evaluation Battery - MAC Battery) to Brazilian Portuguese, in accordance with psycholinguistics criteria. MAC Battery is a Canadian instrument constructed to evaluate right hemisphere communicative and linguistic abilities, considering four processing domains: discoursive, pragmatic-inferential, lexical-semantic and prosodic. The participants were six translators, three specialist judges, 54 non-specialist judges and 16 subjects from pilot studies. Adaptation procedures included translation, judge analysis of psycholinguistics criteria and two pilot tests. Some tasks required a harder stimulus adaptation process - Metaphor interpretation, Narrative discourse and Semantic judgement - focusing a main finality: to keep each task's objective as idealized in the original instrument. This neuropsychological test can be used to evaluate communication abilities of patients with right brail damage, frontal lesion, traumatic brain injury and dementia.