Effectiveness of sensorimotor therapy on action naming in post-stroke aphasia: a systematic review.

Purpose: Aphasia, a language disorder caused by brain injury, often results in action naming difficulties. This systematic review reports and analyzes the studies on speech-therapy interventions that use sensorimotor strategies for treating isolated verbs in individuals with chronic aphasia.

Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, the MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsycInfo databases were searched on January 18, 2024, for articles published in English and French between 1996 and 2024.

The Contribution of the Face-Name Associative Recognition Test to Objectifying the Impairment of Associative Memory in Subjective Cognitive Decline.

Objective: Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) is defined as a self-reported perception of cognitive decline that occurs without clear objective signs of cognitive impairment. There is still uncertainty in the literature about the reliability of SCD as an accurate indicator of the early stages of major neurocognitive disorders. Furthermore, objectifying cognitive impairment in SCD is difficult, mainly due to the insensitivity of the assessment instruments.

Normative Data for the Famous People Fluency Test in the Adult French-Quebec Population and Validation Study in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease.

Objective: The production of words in verbal fluency tests relies heavily on executive functions and linguistic abilities. New tests such as the famous people fluency test can also be useful in clinical practice and research. This test, in which participants are asked to name so many famous people, has the potential to distinguish healthy individuals from participants with neurological disorders such as mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease.

Impaired lexical access for unique entities in individuals with subjective cognitive decline.

Subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may serve as an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, accurately quantifying cognitive impairment in SCD is challenging, mainly because existing assessment tools lack sensitivity. This study examined how tasks specifically designed to assess knowledge of famous people, could potentially aid in identifying cognitive impairment in SCD.

Normative Data for the Alternating and Orthographic Constraint Semantic Fluency Tests in the Adult French-Quebec Population and Validation Study in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease.

Verbal fluency tests, known to elicit executive functions (EFs), have proven useful in distinguishing healthy individuals from those with cognitive impairment. The present study addresses two new tests of verbal fluency that elicit EFs, namely, extradimensional alternating fluency (EAF) and extradimensional orthographic constraint semantic fluency (EOCSF). The aim of Study 1 was to provide normative data in the adult and elderly population of French Québec for the two fluency tests.

Language Impairment in Vascular Dementia: A Clinical Review.

Vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) encompasses a wide range of conditions, including cognitive impairment associated with stroke or vascular brain injury, mild vascular cognitive impairment, and vascular dementia (VD). Knowledge of language impairment associated with VD is far less extensive than that of Alzheimer's disease. Although not prevalent in VD, impairment in language skills has been reported.

Normative data for the verb fluency test in the adult French-Quebec population and validation study in mild cognitive impairment.

Verbal fluency tests are used to assess executive functions and language. The verb fluency test has proven successful in distinguishing healthy individuals (HCs) from participants with pathological conditions. However, few normative and psychometric studies have been published for the verb fluency test.

The Use of Executive Fluency Tasks to Detect Cognitive Impairment in Individuals with Subjective Cognitive Decline.

Objective: Although evidence has indicated that subjective cognitive decline (SCD) may be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the objectification of cognitive impairment in SCD is challenging, mainly due to the lack of sensitivity in assessment tools. The present study investigated the potential contribution of two verbal fluency tasks with high executive processing loads to the identification of cognitive impairment in SCD.

Methods: A total of 60 adults with SCD and 60 healthy controls (HCs) performed one free action (verb) fluency task and two fluency tasks with more executive processing load-an alternating fluency task and an orthographic constraint fluency task-and the results were compared.

Validation of and Normative Data of the DVAQ-30, a New Video-Naming Test for Assessing Verb Anomia.

Objective: Anomia is usually assessed using picture-naming tests. While many tests evaluate anomia for nouns, very few tests have been specifically designed for verb anomia. This article presents the DVAQ-30, a new naming test for detecting verb anomia in adults and elderly people.

The Importance of Being Familiar: The Role of Semantic Knowledge in the Activation of Emotions and Factual Knowledge from Music in the Semantic Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia.

Background: The role of semantic knowledge in emotion recognition remains poorly understood. The semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) is a degenerative disorder characterized by progressive loss of semantic knowledge, while other cognitive abilities remain spared, at least in the early stages of the disease. The syndrome is therefore a reliable clinical model of semantic impairment allowing for testing the propositions made in theoretical models of emotion recognition.

Proactive changes in clinical practice as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic: Survey on use of telepractice by Quebec speech-language pathologists.

Background: The coronavirus disease2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to important challenges in health and education service delivery.

Aims: The present study aimed to document: (i) changes in the use of telepractice by speech-language pathology (SLP) professionals in Quebec since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak; (ii) perceptions of the feasibility of telepractice by SLPs; (iii) barriers to the use of telepractice; and (iv) the perceptions of SLP professionals regarding the main issues of telepractice.

Methods & Procedures: An online survey with closed and open, Likert scale and demographic questions was completed by 83 SLPs in Quebec in June and July 2020.

Of logos and men: semantic memory impairment for unique entities in a case of semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia.

In this study, an individual (NG) with the semantic varient of primary progressive aphasis (svPPA) was assessed with tasks designed to investigate the recognition and activation of semantic knowledge about unique entities. NG had significant difficulties in the recognition of brand names and famous names but was largely unimpaired in the recognition of logos and famous faces. However, she was impaired in tasks requiring the activation of semantic representations of logos, brand names, famous faces, and famous names.

The Occurrence of FUS Mutations in Pediatric Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive motor neuron disease affecting both upper and lower motor neurons and leading to progressive paralysis. Most cases are sporadic, and the symptoms generally begin in the sixth or seventh decade. Juvenile ALS appears in a rare subgroup of patients with onset before the age of 25 years old.

Whole-exome sequencing identifies homozygous mutation in TTI2 in a child with primary microcephaly: a case report.

Background: Primary microcephaly is defined as reduced occipital-frontal circumference noticeable before 36 weeks of gestation. Large amount of insults might lead to microcephaly including infections, hypoxia and genetic mutations. More than 16 genes are described in autosomal recessive primary microcephaly.

TDQ-30-A New Color Picture-Naming Test for the Diagnostic of Mild Anomia: Validation and Normative Data in Quebec French Adults and Elderly.

Objective: A reduction in lexical access is observed in normal aging and a few studies also showed that this ability is affected in individuals with subjective cognitive decline. Lexical access is also affected very early in mild cognitive impairment as well as in major neurocognitive disorders. The detection of word-finding difficulties in the earliest stages of pathological aging is particularly difficult because symptoms are often subtle or mild.

Expected performance of Quebec-French older adults on the (BARD).

Difficulties retrieving words during conversations, called anomia, are frequent in the late preclinical stage of Alzheimer's disease, in mild cognitive impairment, and in major neurocognitive disorders. Picture-naming tests, used to assess anomia, are too lengthy and are unsuitable for medical or nursing practices. The main objective of this study was to confirm the usefulness of the (BARD - Battery of Rapid Denomination), an electronically-administered picture-naming test comprising 10 pictures for which perfect naming scores were obtained in French, English and Flemish participants.

The role of semantic memory in the recognition of emotional valence conveyed by written words.

The main goal of this study was to examine the role of semantic memory in the recognition of emotional valence conveyed by words. Eight participants presenting with the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA) and 33 healthy control participants were administered three tasks designed to investigate the formal association between the recognition of emotional valence conveyed by words and the lexical and semantic processing of these words. Results revealed that individuals with svPPA showed deficits in the recognition of negative emotional valence conveyed by words.

The contribution of semantic memory to the recognition of basic emotions and emotional valence: Evidence from the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia.

There is compelling evidence that semantic memory is involved in emotion recognition. However, its contribution to the recognition of emotional valence and basic emotions remains unclear. We compared the performance of 10 participants with the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), a clinical model of semantic memory impairment, to that of 33 healthy participants using three experimental tasks assessing the recognition of: 1) emotional valence conveyed by photographic scenes, 2) basic emotions conveyed by facial expressions, and 3) basic emotions conveyed by prosody sounds.

Improvement in functional vocabulary and generalization to conversation following a self-administered treatment using a smart tablet in primary progressive aphasia.

Currently, public services in speech-language pathology for primary progressive aphasia (PPA) are very limited, although several interventions have been shown to be effective. In this context, new technologies have the potential to enable people with PPA to improve their communication skills. The main aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of a self-administered therapy using a smart tablet to improve naming of functional words and to assess generalization to an ecological conversation task.

Efficacy of a self-administered treatment using a smart tablet to improve functional vocabulary in post-stroke aphasia: a case-series study.

Background: Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that occurs secondary to brain injury, such as stroke. It causes communication difficulties that have a significant impact on quality of life and social relationships. Although the efficacy of speech-language therapy has been clearly demonstrated in this population, long-term services are currently limited due to logistical and financial constraints.

Normative data for the Clock Drawing Test for French-Quebec mid- and older aged healthy adults.

Objective: The Clock Drawing Test (CDT) is frequently used to screen for cognitive impairment, however, normative data for Rouleau et al.'s scoring system are scarce. The present study aims to provide norms for Rouleau et al.