Developing Topics.

Background: Early detection of dementia is critical for effective management and possible mitigation of the disease's progression. Connected speech analysis offers a promising approach to detect early cognitive impairments by evaluating subtle changes in spontaneous language production. This is particularly challenging in low-resource languages, where linguistic barriers prevent effective communication and analysis in clinical settings.

Developing Topics.

Background: As global populations age, dementia prevalence is increasing, with projections suggesting significant growth in the number of affected individuals and their caregivers. In Taiwan, family caregivers provide substantial support, often facing intense burdens due to prolonged caregiving duties. This study aims to assess the psychological health of these caregivers to better understand and address their needs.

Developing Topics.

Background: Early detection is crucial for the timely intervention and management of dementia, potentially slowing its progression. Early stages of dementia might only subtly affect communication, yet connected speech analysis can detect these minor anomalies. Cognitive tests involving connected speech, like the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination's (BDAE) "cookie-theft" picture description task, are pivotal in detecting dementia.

Action and object processing in brain-injured speakers of Chinese.

Objective: To see whether action and object processing across different tasks and modalities differs in brain-injured speakers of Chinese with varying fluency and lesion locations within the left hemisphere.

Method: Words and pictures representing actions and objects were presented to a group of 33 participants whose native and/or dominant language was Mandarin Chinese: 23 patients with left-hemisphere lesions due to stroke and 10 language-, age- and education-matched healthy control participants. A set of 120 stimulus items was presented to each participant in three different forms: as black and white line drawings (for picture-naming), as written words (for reading) and as aurally presented words (for word repetition).