Predicting discourse ability in TBI: Cognitive and communicative factors

预测 TBI 中的话语能力：认知和沟通因素

• 批准号: 8459791
• 负责人: Karen Le
• 金额: $ 4.22万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-08-28 至 2014-08-27
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8459791
• 关键词: Accounting; Adopted; Area; Brain; Clinical; Cognitive; Communication impairment; Complex; Comprehension; Data; Dependence; Development; Dimensions; Equation; Event; Foundations; Goals; Impairment; Individual; Influentials; Intervention; Knowledge; Language; Linguistics; Link; Literature; Marshal; Measures; Memory; Modality; Modeling; Neurologic; Outcome Measure; Participant; Performance; Population; Process; Production; Refit; Research; Resources; Role; Short-Term Memory; Solid; Structure; System; Testing; Traumatic Brain Injury; Update; Work; base; executive function; injured; insight; mental representation; skills; theories

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of the proposed research is to advance our knowledge of cognitive-communicative disorders following traumatic brain injury (TBI) by identifying the cognitive and communicative processes underlying narrative discourse ability. Using structural equation modeling, the proposed research will examine the role of working memory (WM) and inferencing in narrative discourse and test key assumptions posited by the Structure Building Framework (SBF), a cognitive model of normative discourse comprehension. Aspects of executive functions, such as WM, have emerged as potential substrates of discourse. A related factor is inferencing, an often diminished ability in TBI. Discourse production deficits are well-documented in the TBI literature, but data on discourse comprehension in TBI is scarce. The extent to which discourse comprehension predicts discourse production remains unclear. The lack of a discourse model to explain cognitive-communicative breakdowns in neurologic populations hinders the development of theoretically-based discourse interventions. The SBF is a potential candidate, but its assumptions need to be tested, in particular the positing of deployed cognitive processes as domain-general. First, we examine the contributions of WM and inferencing to narrative discourse ability. Second, we test the hypothesis that discourse relies on domain- general processes by using verbal and nonverbal WM tasks. Third, we investigate the extent to which narrative discourse comprehension accounts for narrative discourse production. Analysis 1 uses verbal and nonverbal WM updating and inferencing tasks to predict performance on two narrative discourse comprehension tasks. Analysis 2 uses the same predictors as Analysis 1 to predict performance on two discourse production tasks, story completeness and story grammar. The literature suggests that WM underpins both discourse modes. If WM is domain-general in discourse, we predict that verbal WM will not account for discourse comprehension beyond that of nonverbal WM and vice versa. This hypothesis will hold if performance on verbal and nonverbal WM is highly correlated and the amount of variance in discourse tasks explained by the verbal and nonverbal WM is equivalent. If inferencing contributes to discourse ability after accounting for WM, this suggests that inferencing also marshals other cognitive processes. In Analysis 2, we predict that WM will carry more of the variance in the content measure, story completeness, than inferencing whereas inferencing will carry more of the variance in the organizational measure, story grammar. Analysis 3 examines the prediction of discourse production from discourse comprehension. The magnitude of the contribution of discourse comprehension to discourse production reflects the dependence of production on comprehension. A greater magnitude of the relationship implicates that discourse production and comprehension likely operate in the same system while a smaller one would suggest that comprehension and production operate as parallel systems that draw upon the same cognitive processes but to differing degrees. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed research will contribute to our knowledge of cognitive-communicative disorders following traumatic brain injury by identifying the cognitive and communicative processes underlying discourse ability. The findings from this study will be instrumental in refitting current models of discourse or in developing new ones to better explain cognitive-communicative functioning in neurologic populations. A working model of discourse ability will provide a solid foundation for the development of meaningful and targeted discourse interventions grounded in theory.

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议研究的目的是通过识别叙事话语能力的认知和交流过程来提高我们对脑损伤（TBI）后认知交往性疾病的了解。使用结构方程建模，拟议的研究将研究工作记忆（WM）的作用以及在叙事话语和测试关键假设中提出的结构构建框架（SBF）的关键假设，这是一种规范性话语理解的认知模型。高管职能（例如WM）的各个方面已成为话语的潜在基质。相关因素是推断，这是TBI的能力通常会降低。 TBI文献中有充分记录的话语生产缺陷，但有关TBI话语理解的数据很少。话语理解预测话语产生的程度尚不清楚。缺乏讲话模型来解释神经系统群体中认知传说的分解阻碍了基于理论上的话语干预的发展。 SBF是潜在的候选人，但需要测试其假设，特别是将已部署的认知过程作为领域的位置。首先，我们研究了WM和推断对叙事话语能力的贡献。其次，我们检验了话语通过使用言语和非语言WM任务依赖于域的一般过程的假设。第三，我们研究叙事话语理解的程度在多大程度上解释了叙事话语的产生。分析1使用口头和非语言WM更新和推论任务来预测两个叙事话语理解任务的绩效。分析2使用与分析1相同的预测因子来预测两个话语生产任务，故事完整性和故事语法的表现。文献表明，WM的基础是两种话语模式。如果WM是话语中的领域，我们预测，言语WM将不会考虑到非语言WM之外的话语理解，反之亦然。如果在口头和非语言WM上的表现高度相关，并且由口头和非语言WM解释的话语任务的差异是等效的，则该假设将得以实现。如果推论在考虑到WM之后有助于话语能力，这表明推断还会推断其他认知过程。在分析2中，我们预测，与推论相比，WM将带来更多内容度量，故事完整性的差异，而推论将带来更多的组织措施中的差异，即Story Grammar。分析3研究了话语理解中对话语产生的预测。话语理解对话语产生的贡献的幅度反映了生产对理解的依赖性。这种关系的更大幅度暗示了话语的产生和理解可能在同一系统中运行，而较小的系统则表明理解和生产是按照相同认知过程但程度不同的平行系统运行的。 公共卫生的相关性：拟议的研究将通过确定话语能力的认知和交流过程来帮助我们对脑损伤后认知交往性疾病的了解。这项研究的发现将有助于改善当前的话语模型或开发新的话语模型，以更好地解释神经系统种群中的认知传播功能。话语能力的工作模型将为发展理论上的有意义和有针对性的话语干预措施的发展提供坚实的基础。