University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2013 May;22(2):S256-67. doi: 10.1044/1058-0360(2012/12-0072).
This study examined the functioning of a central comprehension mechanism, suppression, in adults with right-hemisphere damage (RHD) while they processed narratives that cued a shift in time frame. In normal language comprehension, mental activation of concepts from a prior time frame is suppressed. The (re)activation of information following a time frame shift was also assessed.
Twenty adults (12 RHD; 8 non brain-damaged) completed a speeded word recognition task while listening to narratives in 2 conditions: shift ("an hour later") and no shift ("a moment later").
There was no group difference in suppression for response time proportion data (shift/no shift), but cluster analyses identified a suppression deficit in 8 of the adults with RHD. There was overlap in suppression function at the narrative and lexical levels. The group with RHD was significantly delayed in mentally (re)activating new information after a time shift cue.
Results underscore the generality of suppression functioning in adults with RHD. As such, treatment for a suppression deficit at one level may generalize to another level. An apparent independence of suppression and activation deficits suggests that each may need separate treatment. A better understanding of the nature and boundary conditions of suppression and activation deficits should better inform clinical decisions.
本研究考察了右半球损伤（RHD）成年人在处理提示时间框架转变的叙述时，中央理解机制（抑制）的功能。在正常语言理解中，会抑制来自先前时间框架的概念的心理激活。还评估了时间框架转变后的信息的（重新）激活。
20 名成年人（12 名 RHD；8 名非脑损伤）在听叙述时完成了一项快速单词识别任务，分为两种条件：转变（“一个小时后”）和不转变（“一会儿后”）。
在反应时比例数据（转变/不转变）方面，两组之间没有抑制差异，但聚类分析表明，8 名 RHD 成年人存在抑制缺陷。在叙述和词汇水平上都存在抑制功能的重叠。与 RHD 组相比，在时间转换提示后，新信息的心理（重新）激活明显延迟。
结果强调了 RHD 成年人抑制功能的普遍性。因此，在一个水平上对抑制缺陷的治疗可能会推广到另一个水平。抑制和激活缺陷的明显独立性表明，每个缺陷可能需要单独治疗。更好地了解抑制和激活缺陷的性质和边界条件，应该能更好地为临床决策提供信息。
