Gunma University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Gunma, Japan.
Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2013 Feb;28(1):69-74. doi: 10.1177/1533317512467677. Epub 2012 Dec 7.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the deficits of metaphor and sarcasm comprehension in Alzheimer's disease (AD), as pragmatic interpretation such as metaphor and sarcasm comprehension is required in social communication. A total of 31 young normal controls, 104 aged normal controls (ANC), 42 patients with amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), and 30 patients with mild AD were evaluated by Metaphoric and Sarcastic Scenario Test, which consists of 5 metaphoric and 5 sarcastic questions with 5 answer choices. Scores were analyzed using the repeated measures analysis of variance (metaphor/sarcasm vs 4 participant groups). Sarcasm comprehension, which requires second-order Theory of Mind (ToM), started to deteriorate in ANC, and metaphor comprehension, which requires first-order ToM, started to deteriorate in aMCI, and both deteriorated as disease progressed. Literal interpretation of pragmatic language is characteristic in patients with mild AD. Such misinterpretation would result in social miscommunication, even if they still retained semantic-lexical competence.
这项研究的目的是评估阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者在隐喻和讽刺理解方面的缺陷，因为在社交交流中需要进行隐喻和讽刺等语用解释。共有 31 名年轻正常对照组、104 名老年正常对照组（ANC）、42 名遗忘型轻度认知障碍（aMCI）患者和 30 名轻度 AD 患者参加了隐喻和讽刺情景测试，该测试由 5 个隐喻和 5 个讽刺问题组成，有 5 个答案选项。使用重复测量方差分析（隐喻/讽刺与 4 个参与者组）对分数进行分析。需要二阶心理理论（ToM）的讽刺理解在 ANC 中开始恶化，需要一阶 ToM 的隐喻理解在 aMCI 中开始恶化，并且随着疾病的进展而恶化。轻度 AD 患者的语言具有字面解释的特点。即使他们仍然保留语义词汇能力，这种误解也会导致社交误解。
