Effects of working memory deficits on the communicative functioning of Alzheimer’s dementia patients
Section snippets
Communicative function and working memory
To understand the impact of WM deficits on communicative functioning, it is appropriate to first consider what occurs intellectually in normal language expression and comprehension. The genesis of communication is an individual’s intention to share information. A linguistic representation must be activated, sequenced, and programmed for production. As the information is shared, it is monitored for accuracy. For comprehension to occur, another person must perceive the information and hold it in
Impairment of WM and communicative function in Alzheimer’s disease
Few, if any, researchers have addressed this question directly because of its complexity. Knowledge of the extent and distribution of Alzheimer’s neuropathology and integrity of intellectual functioning is necessary to separate the contribution of WM deficits on communicative functioning from the impact of other cognitive deficits. It is extremely difficult to document the extent and distribution of neuropathology in individuals with AD while they are alive. Also problematic is separating the
Techniques for facilitating communicative functioning of individuals with Alzheimer’s dementia: what science suggests
Simply said, techniques that facilitate function are those that control the amount of information that must be maintained in consciousness, simplify the search of long-term memory and the ways information must be manipulated. The techniques recommended in this section have been used by cognitive scientists studying the facilitation of learning in healthy individuals.
Summary
Frontal lobe pathology in individuals with AD diminishes working memory by reducing span capacity, limiting attention, and disturbing search and retrieval functions. Because language comprehension and expression rely on the integrity of these functions, individuals with AD perform poorer than normals on myriad communication tasks. The degree of their impairment is a function of the complexity of the information processing required. Clinicians may improve communicative function by reducing
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On the working memory of humans and great apes: Strikingly similar or remarkably different?
2022, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral ReviewsCitation Excerpt :Further supporting the connection between WM and mental performance is the significant genetic covariance among IQ, processing speed and WM as shown through a twin study based on monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs (Luciano et al., 2001). In the reverse direction, low size of working memory correlates with poor academic performance in reading, mathematics and science (Gathercole, 2008) and can lead to difficulty in participating in conversations (Bayles, 2003). In addition, working memory impaired through a stroke is found to have a negative effect on daily life activities (Fitri et al., 2020).
Dementia detection using automatic analysis of conversations
2019, Computer Speech and LanguageCitation Excerpt :Dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, which is caused by a number of conditions with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) being the most common cause. AD presents most commonly with an episodic memory disorder, but language impoverishment is also frequently present manifesting as problems with e.g., object naming, noun production and verb usage (Bayles and Boone, 1982; Bayles, 2003; Tomoeda et al., 1996; Hamilton, 1994; Forbes-McKay and Venneri, 2005). The observation of a patient’s language is therefore included in routine dementia assessments.
Social positioning by people with Alzheimer's disease in a support group
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2013, Behavioural Brain ResearchEffect of speech rate and complexity on sentence comprehension in Alzheimer’s disease
2023, Speech, Language and HearingMulti-parameter study on linguistic and semantic functions of Alzheimer's disease
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