Department of Speech and Language Pathology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences (IUMS), Tehran, Iran.
Department of Speech and Language Pathology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
J Commun Disord. 2021 Jan-Feb;89:106077. doi: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.106077. Epub 2020 Dec 29.
Individuals with aphasia (IWA) show various impairments in speech, language, and cognitive functions. Working memory (WM), a cognitive system that functions to hold and manipulate information in support of complex, goal-directed behaviors, is one of the impaired cognitive domains in aphasia. The present study intended to examine the effects of a WM training program on both memory and language performance in IWA.
This quasi-experimental study with an active control group was performed on 25 people with mild or moderate Broca's aphasia aged 29-61 years resulting from left hemisphere damage following ischemic stroke. Participants were assigned into two groups, including a training group (n = 13) and a control group (n = 12). The treatment and control groups received WM training and routine speech therapy, respectively. Two separate lists of WM tests, including one list for both pre-training assessment and training program and a second list for the post-training assessment, were used in this study.
The treatment group showed significant improvements in both trained and non-trained WM tasks (near transfer effect) and language performance (far transfer effect) compared to the control group.
Given the good generalizability of the WM training program on both WM and language performance, WM training is suggested as part of the rehabilitation program in aphasia.
失语症患者（IWA）在言语、语言和认知功能方面表现出各种障碍。工作记忆（WM）是一种认知系统，用于保持和操作信息，以支持复杂的、有目标的行为，是失语症受损的认知领域之一。本研究旨在探讨 WM 训练计划对 IWA 的记忆和语言表现的影响。
本研究采用准实验设计，对 25 名年龄在 29-61 岁之间、因左侧半球缺血性卒中后损伤而患有轻度或中度 Broca 失语症的成年人进行了研究。参与者被分为两组，包括训练组（n=13）和对照组（n=12）。治疗组和对照组分别接受 WM 训练和常规言语治疗。本研究使用了两份 WM 测试清单，一份用于训练前评估和训练计划，另一份用于训练后评估。
与对照组相比，治疗组在训练和非训练 WM 任务（近迁移效应）和语言表现（远迁移效应）方面均有显著改善。
鉴于 WM 训练计划在 WM 和语言表现方面具有良好的泛化能力，建议将 WM 训练作为失语症康复计划的一部分。
