Training and Generalization Effects of Verb Tense Training Using Irregular Verbs in Agrammatic Aphasia

EasyChair Preprint no. 6583

Abstract

Verb tense errors are a hallmark feature of agrammatic language production in aphasia. Intervention studies show that tense training with irregular verbs as stimuli (e.g., sing-sang, drink-drank) generalizes to improved production of regular past tense (e.g., walk-walked, push-pushed) without explicit training of regular past tense formation rule. But generalization to untrained irregulars is limited. In two studies that conducted morphosemantic training of verb tense using irregular verbs, production accuracy of untrained regular past improved by 84%, while untrained irregular past verbs improved only by 55% (Faroqi-Shah, 2008, 2013). Given that the prior studies used irregular verbs from a single paradigm, this study sought to examine: 1) training and generalization outcomes for irregular past tense when training stimuli consist of irregular verbs from different paradigms; 2) generalization to untrained tenses (present and future). Six individuals (4M, 2F) with agrammatic language production following left hemisphere stroke participated (Age M(SD) = 51.5(23.2)yrs, time post-stroke M(SD)=2.3 (1.3)yrs). Training stimuli were 20 irregular verbs from two paradigms (vowel-change & vowel-change+consonant addition). Morphosemantic treatment was used and accuracy of verb tense in picture description was measured. There was a significant improvement in the production of trained irregular past (68.6%), untrained irregular past (43%), and untrained regular past (63.3%). Present and future tense accuracy did not improve (29%). Thus, using irregular verbs from different paradigms did not enhance generalization for untrained irregular past supporting the nonproductivity of irregular verb paradigms. This study highlights the importance of specifically targeting two components of tense training in agrammatic aphasia as these do not automatically generalize: individual irregular verbs and each tense.

Keyphrases: agrammatism, aphasia, morphology, treatment, verb

@Booklet{EasyChair:6583,
  author = {Yasmeen Faroqi-Shah},
  title = {Training and Generalization Effects of Verb Tense Training Using Irregular Verbs in Agrammatic Aphasia},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint no. 6583},

  year = {EasyChair, 2021}}