Psycholinguistic variables influencing word retrieval in Persian speaking people with aphasia

ABSTRACT

Background

Word retrieval deficits are one of the hallmark symptoms of people with aphasia (PWA). Psycholinguistic variables can predict word retrieval accuracy and latency in aphasia, but results to date have been mixed.

Aims

In this study, we investigate the effects of age of acquisition (AOA), familiarity, word frequency, and word length on the naming accuracy and reaction time of Persian-speaking PWA.

Methods & Procedures

This study consists of 25 participants with mild to moderate aphasia who completed a confrontation naming test. Naming accuracy was determined per participant per picture and reaction times were calculated using DMDX and CHECKVOCAL.

Outcomes & Results

The results showed that the four psycholinguistic variables were significantly correlated with naming accuracy and reaction time across the group of PWA. Multiple linear regressions demonstrated that among the four psycholinguistic variables, word familiarity had the strongest effect on reaction time; frequency and familiarity were most predictive of naming accuracy.

Conclusions

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the influence of four psycholinguistic variables on word retrieval in Persian-speaking PWA using picture naming. The result of this study showed that word familiarity led to more accurate and faster retrieval, while word frequency led to more accurate word retrieval. The effect of psycholinguistic variables in picture naming is relevant to various fields of study, such as the underlying processes of language production, brain lesions, and functional imaging of naming.

KEYWORDS:

• Aphasia
• word retrieval
• psycholinguistic variables
• reaction time
• persian

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, we would like to express our gratitude to Megan S. Sutton, MS, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist in Vancouver, Canada and co-founder of Tactus Therapy Solutions, maker of apps for aphasia therapy. Special thanks to Ainsley S. Martin, MS, CCC-SLP who specializes in dysphagia and works with neurodegenerative patients in the United States. Special thanks to Aidan Osborne and Jenan Maaz, MS, CCC-SLP, a speech-language pathologist from the San Francisco Bay Area who primarily works in acute care. They are native English speakers who edited the entire text. We also thank Ms. Karen Copeland, M.A., CCC-SLP; BC-ANCDS, Team Lead/Rehabilitation Services. She reviewed the manuscript and made suggestions. We gratefully acknowledge the individuals who voluntarily participated in this study. This article was extracted from a Master’s thesis (registration code: 397019), which was reviewed and approved scientifically by the research council of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Also, the whole procedure was approved by the Ethics Committee of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences (IR.MUI.RESEARCH.REC.1397.032).

Disclosure statement

We declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Isfahan University of Medical Sciences [397019].