Number is an important aspect of lexical syntax. While there has been substantial research devote... more Number is an important aspect of lexical syntax. While there has been substantial research devoted to number agreement at the level of the sentence, relatively less attention has been paid to the representation of number at the level of individual lexical items. In this paper, we propose a representational framework for the lexical syntax of number in spoken word production that we believe can account for much of the data regarding number in noun and noun phrase production. This framework considers the representation of regular and irregular nouns, and more unusual cases such as pluralia tantum (e.g. scissors), zero plurals (e.g. sheep) and mass nouns (e.g. garlic). We not only address bare noun production but also the production of determiner + noun phrases. While focusing on examples from English, we extend the framework to include languages with grammatical gender such as German.
The use of data from people with cognitive impairments to inform theories of cognition is an esta... more The use of data from people with cognitive impairments to inform theories of cognition is an established methodology, particularly in the field of cognitive neuropsychology. However, it is less well known that studies that aim to improve cognitive functioning using treatment can also inform our understanding of cognition. This paper discusses a range of challenges that researchers face when testing theories of cognition and particularly when using treatment as a tool for doing so. It highlights the strengths of treatment methodology for testing causal relations and additionally discusses how generalization of treatment effects can shed light on the nature of cognitive representations and processes. These points are illustrated using examples from the Special Issue of Cognitive Neuropsychology entitled Treatment as a tool for investigating cognition.
Page 1. Story writing skills of adults with a history language-impairment Karen M. Smith-Lock Æ L... more Page 1. Story writing skills of adults with a history language-impairment Karen M. Smith-Lock Æ Lyndsey Nickels Æ Lynne Mortensen Published online: 10 September 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media BV 2008 Abstract ...
This paper informs our understanding of the representation and processing of mass and count nouns... more This paper informs our understanding of the representation and processing of mass and count nouns through an investigation of the underlying causes of mass/count specific impairments in in two people with aphasia, DEH and GEC. The factors influencing the production of mass and count nouns and noun phrases was comprehensively assessed. The results showed that GEC's impairment affected mass noun naming, resulting in the production of semantic paraphasias and no responses. In contrast, DEH frequently substituted mass determiners with count determiners leading to ungrammatical noun phrases. In comparison to younger control group, a control group of older adults showed similar difficulties to DEH with mass noun phrases, although less severe, indicating effects of cognitive ageing on lexical and semantic processing. DEH and the elderly controls' results replicate and support previous findings regarding the lexical-syntactic representation of mass/count information. GEC's difficulties extend these findings by providing additional evidence for a semantic component in the representation of countability (e.g., a semantic feature/concept COUNTABLE for count nouns, UNCOUNTABLE for mass nouns) which contributes to mass and count noun selection. GEC's mass noun difficulties are suggested to result from weaker connection strength between noun lemmas and mass concepts compared to count concepts as a result of the overall lower frequency distribution of mass nouns.
In healthy controls, picture naming performance can be facilitated by a single prior exposure to ... more In healthy controls, picture naming performance can be facilitated by a single prior exposure to the same picture ("priming"). This priming phenomenon is utilized in the treatment of aphasia, which often includes repeated picture naming as part of a therapeutic task. The current study sought to determine whether single and/or multiple exposures facilitate subsequent naming in aphasia and whether such facilitatory effects act through normal priming mechanisms. A functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm was employed to explore the beneficial effects of attempted naming in two individuals with aphasia and a control group. The timing and number of prior exposures was manipulated, with investigation of both short-term effects (single prior exposure over a period of minutes) and long-term effects (multiple presentations over a period of days). Following attempted naming, both short-term and long-term facilitated items showed improvement for controls, while only the long-term condition showed benefits at a behavioral level for the participants with aphasia. At a neural level, effects of long-term facilitation were noted in the left precuneus for one participant with aphasia, a result also identified for the equivalent contrast in controls. It appears that multiple attempts are required to improve naming performance in the presence of anomia and that for some individuals with aphasia the source of facilitation may be similar to unimpaired mechanisms engaged outside the language network.
Topographical disorientation, the inability to find one&a... more Topographical disorientation, the inability to find one's way in large-scale environments, is a relatively common disorder. However, there are relatively few cognitive neuropsychological studies that investigate the nature of topographical cognition. Theoretical progress has been hindered by a number of factors including: terminological confusion; lack of theoretically driven assessment; the use of broad classifications for the nature of underlying impairments; and an ongoing failure to examine topographical skills in real-life settings. As a result, there is currently no well-established or widely accepted theoretical framework encompassing all aspects of this multifaceted area of cognition. In addition, there is a relative paucity of published case studies that include a comprehensive, theoretically based assessment of topographical disorientation, and treatment of the disorder has received virtually no formal investigation (with the exception of Davis & Coltheart, 1999). Thus, the current paper focuses on the development of a broad framework for understanding topographical cognition that integrates a number of recent theories of topographical orientation and mental imagery (Farah, 1984; Kosslyn, 1980; Riddoch & Humphreys, 1989). The aim of the paper is to present a preliminary framework that can be used as a basis for further refinement and development of theoretical proposals, and be employed by clinicians as a starting point for assessment planning.
... (1991a), it remains to be demonstrated that, using the same parameters, their model could als... more ... (1991a), it remains to be demonstrated that, using the same parameters, their model could alsosimulate the patterns ... EVALUATING MODELS OF SPOKEN WORD RECOGNITION ... IAA models) will spread to affect the network as a whole as activation reverberates between levels. ...
In this paper we investigate whether homophones have shared (eg, Dell, 1990; Levelt, Roelofs, &am... more In this paper we investigate whether homophones have shared (eg, Dell, 1990; Levelt, Roelofs, & Meyer, 1999) or independent (eg, Caramazza, Costa, Miozzo, & Bi, 2001) phonological representations. We carried out a homophone reading aloud task with low ...
This paper presents a treatment study with a developmental dysgraphic girl, KM, and addresses the... more This paper presents a treatment study with a developmental dysgraphic girl, KM, and addresses the mechanisms by which orthographic learning of spelling rules might occur. Before treatment, KM's spelling of words and nonwords was impaired. Analyses of spelling errors ...
In the last decade, an increasing number of single case studies that use a cognitive neuropsychol... more In the last decade, an increasing number of single case studies that use a cognitive neuropsychological approach to the remediation of developmental dyslexia (ie reading disorders) and dysgraphia (ie spelling disorders) have been published (eg Broom & Doctor, 1995; Brunsdon, ...
Number is an important aspect of lexical syntax. While there has been substantial research devote... more Number is an important aspect of lexical syntax. While there has been substantial research devoted to number agreement at the level of the sentence, relatively less attention has been paid to the representation of number at the level of individual lexical items. In this paper, we propose a representational framework for the lexical syntax of number in spoken word production that we believe can account for much of the data regarding number in noun and noun phrase production. This framework considers the representation of regular and irregular nouns, and more unusual cases such as pluralia tantum (e.g. scissors), zero plurals (e.g. sheep) and mass nouns (e.g. garlic). We not only address bare noun production but also the production of determiner + noun phrases. While focusing on examples from English, we extend the framework to include languages with grammatical gender such as German.
The use of data from people with cognitive impairments to inform theories of cognition is an esta... more The use of data from people with cognitive impairments to inform theories of cognition is an established methodology, particularly in the field of cognitive neuropsychology. However, it is less well known that studies that aim to improve cognitive functioning using treatment can also inform our understanding of cognition. This paper discusses a range of challenges that researchers face when testing theories of cognition and particularly when using treatment as a tool for doing so. It highlights the strengths of treatment methodology for testing causal relations and additionally discusses how generalization of treatment effects can shed light on the nature of cognitive representations and processes. These points are illustrated using examples from the Special Issue of Cognitive Neuropsychology entitled Treatment as a tool for investigating cognition.
Page 1. Story writing skills of adults with a history language-impairment Karen M. Smith-Lock Æ L... more Page 1. Story writing skills of adults with a history language-impairment Karen M. Smith-Lock Æ Lyndsey Nickels Æ Lynne Mortensen Published online: 10 September 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media BV 2008 Abstract ...
This paper informs our understanding of the representation and processing of mass and count nouns... more This paper informs our understanding of the representation and processing of mass and count nouns through an investigation of the underlying causes of mass/count specific impairments in in two people with aphasia, DEH and GEC. The factors influencing the production of mass and count nouns and noun phrases was comprehensively assessed. The results showed that GEC's impairment affected mass noun naming, resulting in the production of semantic paraphasias and no responses. In contrast, DEH frequently substituted mass determiners with count determiners leading to ungrammatical noun phrases. In comparison to younger control group, a control group of older adults showed similar difficulties to DEH with mass noun phrases, although less severe, indicating effects of cognitive ageing on lexical and semantic processing. DEH and the elderly controls' results replicate and support previous findings regarding the lexical-syntactic representation of mass/count information. GEC's difficulties extend these findings by providing additional evidence for a semantic component in the representation of countability (e.g., a semantic feature/concept COUNTABLE for count nouns, UNCOUNTABLE for mass nouns) which contributes to mass and count noun selection. GEC's mass noun difficulties are suggested to result from weaker connection strength between noun lemmas and mass concepts compared to count concepts as a result of the overall lower frequency distribution of mass nouns.
In healthy controls, picture naming performance can be facilitated by a single prior exposure to ... more In healthy controls, picture naming performance can be facilitated by a single prior exposure to the same picture ("priming"). This priming phenomenon is utilized in the treatment of aphasia, which often includes repeated picture naming as part of a therapeutic task. The current study sought to determine whether single and/or multiple exposures facilitate subsequent naming in aphasia and whether such facilitatory effects act through normal priming mechanisms. A functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm was employed to explore the beneficial effects of attempted naming in two individuals with aphasia and a control group. The timing and number of prior exposures was manipulated, with investigation of both short-term effects (single prior exposure over a period of minutes) and long-term effects (multiple presentations over a period of days). Following attempted naming, both short-term and long-term facilitated items showed improvement for controls, while only the long-term condition showed benefits at a behavioral level for the participants with aphasia. At a neural level, effects of long-term facilitation were noted in the left precuneus for one participant with aphasia, a result also identified for the equivalent contrast in controls. It appears that multiple attempts are required to improve naming performance in the presence of anomia and that for some individuals with aphasia the source of facilitation may be similar to unimpaired mechanisms engaged outside the language network.
Topographical disorientation, the inability to find one&a... more Topographical disorientation, the inability to find one's way in large-scale environments, is a relatively common disorder. However, there are relatively few cognitive neuropsychological studies that investigate the nature of topographical cognition. Theoretical progress has been hindered by a number of factors including: terminological confusion; lack of theoretically driven assessment; the use of broad classifications for the nature of underlying impairments; and an ongoing failure to examine topographical skills in real-life settings. As a result, there is currently no well-established or widely accepted theoretical framework encompassing all aspects of this multifaceted area of cognition. In addition, there is a relative paucity of published case studies that include a comprehensive, theoretically based assessment of topographical disorientation, and treatment of the disorder has received virtually no formal investigation (with the exception of Davis & Coltheart, 1999). Thus, the current paper focuses on the development of a broad framework for understanding topographical cognition that integrates a number of recent theories of topographical orientation and mental imagery (Farah, 1984; Kosslyn, 1980; Riddoch & Humphreys, 1989). The aim of the paper is to present a preliminary framework that can be used as a basis for further refinement and development of theoretical proposals, and be employed by clinicians as a starting point for assessment planning.
... (1991a), it remains to be demonstrated that, using the same parameters, their model could als... more ... (1991a), it remains to be demonstrated that, using the same parameters, their model could alsosimulate the patterns ... EVALUATING MODELS OF SPOKEN WORD RECOGNITION ... IAA models) will spread to affect the network as a whole as activation reverberates between levels. ...
In this paper we investigate whether homophones have shared (eg, Dell, 1990; Levelt, Roelofs, &am... more In this paper we investigate whether homophones have shared (eg, Dell, 1990; Levelt, Roelofs, & Meyer, 1999) or independent (eg, Caramazza, Costa, Miozzo, & Bi, 2001) phonological representations. We carried out a homophone reading aloud task with low ...
This paper presents a treatment study with a developmental dysgraphic girl, KM, and addresses the... more This paper presents a treatment study with a developmental dysgraphic girl, KM, and addresses the mechanisms by which orthographic learning of spelling rules might occur. Before treatment, KM's spelling of words and nonwords was impaired. Analyses of spelling errors ...
In the last decade, an increasing number of single case studies that use a cognitive neuropsychol... more In the last decade, an increasing number of single case studies that use a cognitive neuropsychological approach to the remediation of developmental dyslexia (ie reading disorders) and dysgraphia (ie spelling disorders) have been published (eg Broom & Doctor, 1995; Brunsdon, ...
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