Relationship between distinctive feature knowledge and word retrieval abilities in people with aphasia

Abstract

Background: The relationship between performance on various types of word retrieval tasks and distinctive feature knowledge was examined in people with aphasia. The researchers also investigated performance on word retrieval tasks by two groups of people with aphasia: people who had high scores (Group 1) and low scores (Group 2) on an auditory-word matching task that required identification of target words among semantically related foils.

Aims: The current study investigated the relationship between high-, mid-, and low-importance distinctive feature knowledge and word retrieval abilities in people with aphasia.

Methods & Procedures: A total of 12 people with chronic aphasia participated in this study. Participants completed formal and informal word retrieval tasks, a feature-sorting task, and auditory-word matching tasks. Relationships between knowledge of features varying in distinctiveness and importance and various formal and informal naming tasks were analysed. Additionally, the researchers divided participants into two groups based on performance during an auditory-word matching task with semantically related foils. Group means across confrontation, descriptive, and divergent word retrieval tasks, as well as TAWF brief test and BNT-2 scores were analysed.

Outcomes & Results: Significant correlations were found between distinctive feature knowledge, particularly low- and mid-importance features, and three word retrieval tasks. Significant differences on word retrieval task performance between the two groups were evident such that Group 1 had higher scores than Group 2 on descriptive and confrontation word retrieval tasks, as well as the TAWF brief test and BNT-2.

Conclusions: Findings support previous research examining knowledge of features across levels of distinctiveness and importance in people with aphasia. Furthermore the current study highlights the contribution of feature knowledge as it relates to various word retrieval tasks. Groups of participants able to discriminate between semantically related foils may have significantly better word retrieval abilities compared to participants not able to discriminate among semantically related foils. Implications for future research and clinical practice are discussed.

Keywords:

• Aphasia
• Semantic feature knowledge
• Distinctiveness
• Importance
• Word retrieval