This paper discusses a recent article by Chapman and Ulatowska (1989, Brain and Language, 36, 651... more This paper discusses a recent article by Chapman and Ulatowska (1989, Brain and Language, 36, 651-658) on discourse analysis in aphasia. As such, the research in this area is interdisciplinary drawing from neuropsychology, as well as cognitive psychology, and, in part, aging. We illustrate problems that can arise when theoretical constructs and methodological considerations in this interdisciplinary approach are not rigorously observed. It is argued that definitive conclusions regarding the functional organization of the brain and discourse can be offered only when discourse analysis uses the state of the art from neuropsychology and cognitive psychology.
L'article cherche a etablir si les persones âgees souffrent reellement d'un probleme de d... more L'article cherche a etablir si les persones âgees souffrent reellement d'un probleme de denomination et si les raisons d'apparition d'un tel probleme ont ete clairement mises en evidence
3 groupes de sujets (20 a 30 ans, 40 a 50 ans, et au-dela de 60 ans) sont amenes a produire 4 fig... more 3 groupes de sujets (20 a 30 ans, 40 a 50 ans, et au-dela de 60 ans) sont amenes a produire 4 figures geometriques (cercle, carre, cube, etoile) et 4 figures non geometriques (maison, homme, bicyclette, pipe) sur commande verbale d'abord puis sur modele
Thirty-six right-brain-damaged (RBD) right-handers and 20 controls (C) were submitted to a narrat... more Thirty-six right-brain-damaged (RBD) right-handers and 20 controls (C) were submitted to a narrative production task using the pictorial representation of a trivial story. Each subject's narrative was analyzed, using a "propositional analysis," in order to study amount as well as nature of informative content. Results show that RBD subjects' narratives contain a smaller amount of information that did not appear to be related to a smaller amount of verbal output or to the presence of a visual neglect, that the information contained in RBD subjects' narratives appears to be a subset of that contained in C subjects' narratives, and that these results do not pertain to all C or RBD subjects, since both groups are nonhomogeneous. Even though these results are not linked to the presence of some visual neglect or visual agnosia per se, they could be, at least in part, the expression of some degree of perceptive difficulties of the iconography. However, they are also interpreted as expressing a problem with the organization of narrative discourse at levels of cognitive processing which may not be exclusive to language, but which are nonetheless essential for discourse organization.
Il capitolo sulla somministrazione e codifica del protocollo MEC e stato realizzato per orientare... more Il capitolo sulla somministrazione e codifica del protocollo MEC e stato realizzato per orientare l’esaminatore1 nelle fasi di somministrazione delle prove, codifica dei risultati e loro interpretazione. e consigliabile leggere questo capitolo prima di valutare il partecipante2 con il Protocollo MEC.
This chapter offers an overview of the pragmatic and social communication disorders that can occu... more This chapter offers an overview of the pragmatic and social communication disorders that can occur after an alteration of the brain, as best exemplified by individuals with right hemisphere damage. It also discusses the theoretical approaches developed to explain indirect speech act comprehension and inference impairments affecting conversational and narrative comprehension. Similar deficits have been described in other brain-damaged populations such as individuals with traumatic brain injuries, early dementia, and some forms of aphasia. Taken together, deficits of discourse and social aspects of communication abilities show they depend upon the integrity of brain networks that are widely distributed over the brain. These deficits need to be better recognized and described with reference to the underlying cognitive processes involved in order to move toward a more efficient way of helping these individuals participate in society again.
Four non-ecological studies (Heeschen and Reisches 1979, Hirst et al. 1984, Foldi 1987, Weylman e... more Four non-ecological studies (Heeschen and Reisches 1979, Hirst et al. 1984, Foldi 1987, Weylman et al. 1989) have shown that a lesion to the right hemisphere can cause deficits in the processing of indirect speech acts. The authors have suggested that an alternative interpretation based on contextual elements could underlie this difficulty. The purpose of this study was to verify whether subjects who suffer a right hemisphere lesion have as much difficulty interpreting context and speech acts in a natural communicative situation as in a non-natural or pseudo-natural situation. A group of 28 subjects (14 RHD subjects and 14 normal controls) were given three tasks, which represented three different communicative situations: natural, nonnatural, and pseudo-natural. The results show that RHD subjects process speech acts as efficiently as controls when they occur in a natural or pseudo-natural situation. However, they process direct and indirect speech acts significantly worse than controls in a non-natural communicative context. These results suggest that the natural character of the situation is crucial to this type of study. The ecological validity of previous studies is questioned, and it is suggested that the types of tasks formerly used do not measure the processing of speech acts per se, but rather the ability to judge the plausibility of a statement expressing an indirect speech act based on the naturalness of the contextual elements.
This paper discusses a recent article by Chapman and Ulatowska (1989, Brain and Language, 36, 651... more This paper discusses a recent article by Chapman and Ulatowska (1989, Brain and Language, 36, 651-658) on discourse analysis in aphasia. As such, the research in this area is interdisciplinary drawing from neuropsychology, as well as cognitive psychology, and, in part, aging. We illustrate problems that can arise when theoretical constructs and methodological considerations in this interdisciplinary approach are not rigorously observed. It is argued that definitive conclusions regarding the functional organization of the brain and discourse can be offered only when discourse analysis uses the state of the art from neuropsychology and cognitive psychology.
L'article cherche a etablir si les persones âgees souffrent reellement d'un probleme de d... more L'article cherche a etablir si les persones âgees souffrent reellement d'un probleme de denomination et si les raisons d'apparition d'un tel probleme ont ete clairement mises en evidence
3 groupes de sujets (20 a 30 ans, 40 a 50 ans, et au-dela de 60 ans) sont amenes a produire 4 fig... more 3 groupes de sujets (20 a 30 ans, 40 a 50 ans, et au-dela de 60 ans) sont amenes a produire 4 figures geometriques (cercle, carre, cube, etoile) et 4 figures non geometriques (maison, homme, bicyclette, pipe) sur commande verbale d'abord puis sur modele
Thirty-six right-brain-damaged (RBD) right-handers and 20 controls (C) were submitted to a narrat... more Thirty-six right-brain-damaged (RBD) right-handers and 20 controls (C) were submitted to a narrative production task using the pictorial representation of a trivial story. Each subject's narrative was analyzed, using a "propositional analysis," in order to study amount as well as nature of informative content. Results show that RBD subjects' narratives contain a smaller amount of information that did not appear to be related to a smaller amount of verbal output or to the presence of a visual neglect, that the information contained in RBD subjects' narratives appears to be a subset of that contained in C subjects' narratives, and that these results do not pertain to all C or RBD subjects, since both groups are nonhomogeneous. Even though these results are not linked to the presence of some visual neglect or visual agnosia per se, they could be, at least in part, the expression of some degree of perceptive difficulties of the iconography. However, they are also interpreted as expressing a problem with the organization of narrative discourse at levels of cognitive processing which may not be exclusive to language, but which are nonetheless essential for discourse organization.
Il capitolo sulla somministrazione e codifica del protocollo MEC e stato realizzato per orientare... more Il capitolo sulla somministrazione e codifica del protocollo MEC e stato realizzato per orientare l’esaminatore1 nelle fasi di somministrazione delle prove, codifica dei risultati e loro interpretazione. e consigliabile leggere questo capitolo prima di valutare il partecipante2 con il Protocollo MEC.
This chapter offers an overview of the pragmatic and social communication disorders that can occu... more This chapter offers an overview of the pragmatic and social communication disorders that can occur after an alteration of the brain, as best exemplified by individuals with right hemisphere damage. It also discusses the theoretical approaches developed to explain indirect speech act comprehension and inference impairments affecting conversational and narrative comprehension. Similar deficits have been described in other brain-damaged populations such as individuals with traumatic brain injuries, early dementia, and some forms of aphasia. Taken together, deficits of discourse and social aspects of communication abilities show they depend upon the integrity of brain networks that are widely distributed over the brain. These deficits need to be better recognized and described with reference to the underlying cognitive processes involved in order to move toward a more efficient way of helping these individuals participate in society again.
Four non-ecological studies (Heeschen and Reisches 1979, Hirst et al. 1984, Foldi 1987, Weylman e... more Four non-ecological studies (Heeschen and Reisches 1979, Hirst et al. 1984, Foldi 1987, Weylman et al. 1989) have shown that a lesion to the right hemisphere can cause deficits in the processing of indirect speech acts. The authors have suggested that an alternative interpretation based on contextual elements could underlie this difficulty. The purpose of this study was to verify whether subjects who suffer a right hemisphere lesion have as much difficulty interpreting context and speech acts in a natural communicative situation as in a non-natural or pseudo-natural situation. A group of 28 subjects (14 RHD subjects and 14 normal controls) were given three tasks, which represented three different communicative situations: natural, nonnatural, and pseudo-natural. The results show that RHD subjects process speech acts as efficiently as controls when they occur in a natural or pseudo-natural situation. However, they process direct and indirect speech acts significantly worse than controls in a non-natural communicative context. These results suggest that the natural character of the situation is crucial to this type of study. The ecological validity of previous studies is questioned, and it is suggested that the types of tasks formerly used do not measure the processing of speech acts per se, but rather the ability to judge the plausibility of a statement expressing an indirect speech act based on the naturalness of the contextual elements.
Uploads