ORCID Profile
0000-0001-8554-555X
Current Organisation
University of New Hampshire
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Publisher: American Speech Language Hearing Association
Date: 08-11-2021
DOI: 10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00708
Abstract: Spoken discourse analysis is commonly employed in the assessment and treatment of people living with aphasia, yet there is no standardization in assessment, analysis, or reporting procedures, thereby precluding comparison/meta-analyses of data and hindering replication of findings. An important first step is to identify current practices in collecting and analyzing spoken discourse in aphasia. Thus, this study surveyed current practices, with the goal of working toward standardizing spoken discourse assessment first in research settings with subsequent implementation into clinical settings. A mixed-methods (quantitative and qualitative) survey was publicized to researchers and clinicians around the globe who have collected and/or analyzed spoken discourse data in aphasia. The survey data were collected between September and November 2019. Of the 201 in iduals who consented to participate, 189 completed all mandatory questions in the survey (with fewer completing nonmandatory response questions). The majority of respondents reported barriers to utilizing discourse including transcription, coding, and analysis. The most common barrier was time (e.g., lack of time). Respondents also indicated that there was a lack of, and a need for, psychometric properties and normative data for spoken discourse use in the assessment and treatment of persons with aphasia. Quantitative and qualitative results are described in detail. The current survey study evaluated spoken discourse methods in aphasia across research and clinical settings. Findings from this study will be used to guide development of process standardization in spoken discourse and for the creation of a psychometric and normative property database. 0.23641/asha.16639510
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2013
Publisher: American Speech Language Hearing Association
Date: 11-02-2021
DOI: 10.1044/2020_AJSLP-19-00093
Abstract: The heterogeneous nature of measures, methods, and analyses reported in the aphasia spoken discourse literature precludes comparison of outcomes across studies (e.g., meta-analyses) and inhibits replication. Furthermore, funding and time constraints significantly hinder collecting test–retest data on spoken discourse outcomes. This research note describes the development and structure of a working group, designed to address major gaps in the spoken discourse aphasia literature, including a lack of standardization in methodology, analysis, and reporting, as well as nominal data regarding the psychometric properties of spoken discourse outcomes. The initial initiatives for this working group are to (a) propose recommendations regarding standardization of spoken discourse collection, analysis, and reporting in aphasia, based on the results of an international survey and a systematic literature review and (b) create a database of test–retest spoken discourse data from in iduals with and without aphasia. The survey of spoken discourse collection, analysis, and interpretation procedures was distributed to clinicians and researchers involved in aphasia assessment and rehabilitation from September to November 2019. We will publish survey results and recommend standards for collecting, analyzing, and reporting spoken discourse in aphasia. A multisite endeavor to collect test–retest spoken discourse data from in iduals with and without aphasia will be initiated. This test–retest information will be contributed to a central site for transcription and analysis, and data will be subsequently openly curated. The goal of the working group is to create recommendations for field-wide standards in methods, analysis, and reporting of spoken discourse outcomes, as has been done across other related disciplines (e.g., Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials, Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of Health Research, Committee on Best Practice in Data Analysis and Sharing). Additionally, the creation of a database through our multisite collaboration will allow the identification of psychometrically sound outcome measures and norms that can be used by clinicians and researchers to assess spoken discourse abilities in aphasia.
Publisher: American Speech Language Hearing Association
Date: 15-09-2020
DOI: 10.1044/2020_JSLHR-19-00117
Abstract: Brain imaging has provided puzzle pieces in the understanding of language. In neurologically healthy populations, the structure of certain brain regions is associated with particular language functions (e.g., semantics, phonology). In studies on focal brain damage, certain brain regions or connections are considered sufficient or necessary for a given language function. However, few of these account for the effects of lesioned tissue on the “functional” dynamics of the brain for language processing. Here, functional connectivity (FC) among semantic–phonological regions of interest (ROIs) is assessed to fill a gap in our understanding about the neural substrates of impaired language and whether connectivity strength can predict language performance on a clinical tool in in iduals with aphasia. Clinical assessment of language, using the Western Aphasia Battery–Revised, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were obtained for 30 in iduals with chronic aphasia secondary to left-hemisphere stroke and 18 age-matched healthy controls. FC between bilateral ROIs was contrasted by group and used to predict Western Aphasia Battery–Revised scores. Network coherence was observed in healthy controls and participants with stroke. The left–right premotor cortex connection was stronger in healthy controls, as reported by New et al. (2015) in the same data set. FC of (a) connections between temporal regions, in the left hemisphere and bilaterally, predicted lexical–semantic processing for auditory comprehension and (b) ipsilateral connections between temporal and frontal regions in both hemispheres predicted access to semantic–phonological representations and processing for verbal production. Network connectivity of brain regions associated with semantic–phonological processing is predictive of language performance in poststroke aphasia. The most predictive connections involved right-hemisphere ROIs—particularly those for which structural adaptions are known to associate with recovered word retrieval performance. Predictions may be made, based on these findings, about which connections have potential as targets for neuroplastic functional changes with intervention in aphasia. 0.23641/asha.12735785
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for Amy Ramage.