ABSTRACT

Background: Generalization of treatment effects is the ultimate goal of therapy. However, treatment generalization across language modalities is not well understood in the aphasia literature and requires further investigation. This work examined the generalization effects of two word retrieval therapies, Phonomotor Treatment (PMT) and Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA), to reading performance in individuals with aphasia.

Aims: This cross-modal generalization investigation was motivated by the Primary Systems Hypothesis, which proposes reading ability is related to and dependent upon underlying phonological and semantic abilities. Therefore, this study sought to determine if enhanced phonological or semantic knowledge following anomia treatment could influence reading ability.

Methods & Procedures: Reading data collected in a randomized control trial for anomia treatment were retrospectively analyzed. Fifty-eight participants with chronic aphasia were randomly assigned to receive intensive PMT (n = 28) or SFA (n = 30) treatment for 56–60 hours over 6–7 weeks. Reading measures were administered pre-, post- and 3 months after treatment. To identify and compare the extent of treatment generalization to reading, within-group and between-group analyses of variance were performed.

Outcomes & Results: On average, participants in both groups showed positive changes in reading. The PMT group demonstrated significantly improved reading of regularly and irregularly spelled words. The SFA group showed significant gains in reading of regularly spelled words and sentence-level reading comprehension. No statistically significant differences in oral reading or reading comprehension were found between the groups before or after therapy.

Conclusions: These preliminary findings support the Primary Systems Hypothesis and suggest a link between reading ability and phonological and semantic abilities. Results show that one anomia treatment was not superior to the other and the positive influence of both PMT and SFA suggests that reading might be enhanced via intensively delivered treatments that focus on the underlying phonological or semantic impairment. Further investigations of cross-modal treatment generalization are needed to help better understand this relationship between word retrieval and reading and its implication for aphasia treatment.

摘要

背景：治疗效果的普遍化是治疗的最终目标。然而，在失语症文献中并没有很好地理解跨语言模式的治疗概括，需要进一步调查。这项工作检查了两种单词检索疗法，音调处理 (PMT) 和语义特征分析 (SFA) 对失语症患者阅读表现的泛化效应。

目的：这种跨模态泛化研究的动机是主要系统假说，该假说认为阅读能力与潜在的语音和语义能力相关并依赖于这些能力。因此，本研究试图确定在失语症治疗后增强的语音或语义知识是否会影响阅读能力。

方法和程序：回顾性分析在随机对照试验中收集的阅读数据，用于治疗失范。58 名患有慢性失语症的参与者被随机分配接受强化 PMT（n = 28）或 SFA（n = 30）治疗 6-7 周，持续 56-60 小时。在治疗前、治疗后和治疗后 3 个月进行阅读测量。为了识别和比较治疗泛化的程度，进行了组内和组间方差分析。

结果和结果：平均而言，两组参与者在阅读方面都表现出积极的变化。PMT 组表现出对规则和不规则拼写单词的阅读显着改善。SFA 组在阅读常规拼写单词和句子级别的阅读理解方面取得了显着进步。治疗前后各组在口语阅读或阅读理解方面没有发现统计学上的显着差异。

结论：这些初步发现支持初级系统假设，并表明阅读能力与语音和语义能力之间存在联系。结果表明，一种失语症治疗并不优于另一种，而 PMT 和 SFA 的积极影响表明，阅读可能会通过专注于潜在语音或语义障碍的强化治疗来增强。需要进一步研究跨模式治疗概括，以帮助更好地理解单词检索和阅读之间的这种关系及其对失语症治疗的影响。