Discourse Processing in Healthy Aging

健康老龄化中的话语处理

基本信息

批准号：
8606320
负责人：
HEATHER Harris WRIGHT
金额：
$ 4.81万
依托单位：
EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
财政年份：
2007
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2007-09-15 至 2013-08-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8606320
关键词：
Discourse Processing Healthy Aging

项目摘要

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objectives of this research program are to determine whether age-related changes in discourse processes correspond to age-related changes in cognitive processes and to test hypotheses regarding discourse processing across the adult lifespan. Discourse processing is the most complex form of language processing and requires linguistic competence (e.g., comprehension) as well as linguistic performance (e.g., production). It has been suggested that age-related changes in language and cognition are related. However, a comprehensive and systematic description of age-related changes in discourse processing is lacking. The proposed research program will address this gap in aging research by evaluating the investigators' comprehensive discourse processing model that includes the multiple linguistic components and cognitive operations involved in discourse production. The significance of the proposed research program is that it charts change in discourse processes and cognitive processes across the adult lifespan in 10-year age cohorts (20s - 80s) and identifies how age-related changes in cognitive functions contribute to age-related changes in within-sentence and between-sentence processes. The specific aims of the proposed project are to: (1) determine how changes in memory and attention across the life span relate to competence and performance of narrative and procedural discourse, (2) document which aspect or aspects of discourse are most sensitive to aging in healthy adult cohorts, and (3) investigate age-related changes in comprehension of narratives across the adult lifespan. Structural equation modeling will be used to analyze the concurrent relationships between our latent variables of interest (cognition and linguistic processing) and manifest variables of interest (within and between sentence processes, linguistic competence and standardized measures of memory and attention). To address the second and third aims we have developed a series of subexperiments to answer our questions of interest; these data will be analyzed using classical ANOVAs as well as nonparametric (Wilcoxon) analyses. Results of this research will inform theories of discourse and cognitive aging as well as provide a normative database for clinical application to individuals with communication disorders associated with aging disorders and acquired neurogenic communication disorders.

描述（由申请人提供）：该研究项目的目标是确定话语过程中与年龄相关的变化是否对应于认知过程中与年龄相关的变化，并测试有关整个成人寿命中话语处理的假设。话语处理是语言处理中最复杂的形式，需要语言能力（例如理解）以及语言表现（例如生产）。有人认为，语言和认知的年龄变化是相关的。然而，缺乏对与年龄相关的话语处理变化的全面、系统的描述。拟议的研究计划将通过评估研究人员的综合话语处理模型来解决老龄化研究中的这一空白，该模型包括话语产生中涉及的多种语言成分和认知操作。拟议研究计划的意义在于，它绘制了 10 岁年龄段（20 岁至 80 岁）成人一生中话语过程和认知过程的变化，并确定了与年龄相关的认知功能变化如何导致与年龄相关的认知功能变化。句内和句间过程。该项目的具体目标是：（1）确定整个生命周期中记忆和注意力的变化如何与叙事和程序性话语的能力和表现相关，（2）记录话语的哪些方面对衰老最敏感在健康的成年人群体中，（3）调查整个成年人生命周期中与年龄相关的叙事理解变化。结构方程模型将用于分析我们感兴趣的潜在变量（认知和语言处理）和感兴趣的显性变量（句子过程内部和之间、语言能力以及记忆和注意力的标准化测量）之间的并发关系。为了解决第二个和第三个目标，我们开发了一系列子实验来回答我们感兴趣的问题；这些数据将使用经典方差分析以及非参数 (Wilcoxon) 分析进行分析。这项研究的结果将为话语和认知衰老理论提供信息，并为患有与衰老障碍和获得性神经源性沟通障碍相关的沟通障碍的个体的临床应用提供规范数据库。