Intensive interdisciplinary specialized rehabilitation or regular physiotherapy for multiple sclerosis? A randomised controlled trial with economic evaluation.

Background: The benefits of Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation in an Outpatient Specialised Unit (IROSU) have not been determined.

Objectives: To compare the effects of IROSU and physiotherapy in the community on impairment, function and Quality Of Life (QoL) in people with Multiple Sclerosis (pwMS) and to determine the medico-economic impact.

Methods: Pragmatic, multicentre, parallel, randomized (centralised computer-generated randomisation) controlled trial.

Validity and reliability of the chronic composite XA, an upper limb motor assessment using Active Range of Motion in patients with chronic stroke.

Background: Upper limb (UL) spastic paresis has been classically evaluated with assessments of passive movements with limited functional validity. The aim of this study was to assess whether a composite measure of active range of motion (AROM, or XA) is valid and reliable in chronic post-stroke spastic paresis.

Aim: The primary objective was to investigate the validity and reliability of a composite score, comprising multiple XA measurements, to assess UL spastic paresis in patients in chronic stages post-stroke.

Why is a named as and as ? Understanding the relationship between targets and errors in a speeded picture naming task.

Speakers sometimes make word production errors, such as mistakenly saying instead of flamingo. This study explored which properties of an error influence the likelihood of its selection over the target word. Analysing real-word errors in speeded picture naming, we investigated whether, relative to the target, naming errors were more typical representatives of the semantic category, were associated with more semantic features, and/or were semantically more closely related to the target than its near semantic neighbours were on average.

Semantic impairment in aphasia: A problem of control?

Purpose: The relationship between cognitive processes and language ability in aphasia has recently gained increasing attention, with some authors suggesting that control impairments may underlie difficulties with semantic tasks in aphasia. This paper aims to present an overview of the current research on the involvement of cognitive processes in semantic processing tasks and discuss the proposed relationship between cognitive control and semantic processing in aphasia.

Method: The role of cognitive processes in semantic processing tasks commonly used in the aphasiology literature is discussed and two theoretical approaches to semantic processing that contribute to the understanding of the nature of semantic breakdown in aphasia are outlined.

Investigating the influence of semantic factors on word retrieval: Reservations, results and recommendations.

There is consensus that word retrieval starts with activation of semantic representations. However, in adults without language impairment, relatively little attention has been paid to the effects of the semantic attributes of to-be-retrieved words. This paper, therefore, addresses the question of which item-inherent semantic factors influence word retrieval.