Contact details

Location

Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Building

358 North Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01003
United States

#315

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About

Despite recent evidence demonstrating treatment-induced neuroplasticity in chronic aphasia, questions remain regarding the influence of treatment variables on language recovery, the neural mechanisms supporting such recovery, and evidence of measurable, correlated improvements in quality of life (QoL). The long-range goal of our research is to better understand how treatment variables affect recovery in chronic aphasia, including the brain/behavior mechanisms supporting improved naming, and how such improvements impact QoL. Our current objective is: first, to determine whether intensive treatment for remediation of word-finding deficits is effective for persons with moderate-to-severe expressive aphasia, regardless of speech practice; second, to identify signature neural patterns of treatment-induced improvements in naming; and third, to characterize the relationship between improved language ability and factors known to correlate with improved QoL, such as confidence, social relationships, and independence. Our current study proposes a longitudinal case series approach to aphasia rehabilitation, focusing on the effect of one variable, implicit versus explicit treatment, on linguistic, neurophysiological, and psychosocial changes in chronic moderate-to-severe patients.

Personal Website: 

http://blogs.umass.edu/jacquie