Aphasia severity and salivary cortisol over time

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychology
• Endocrinology

Background:

• Aphasia, a language disorder, often follows stroke.
• Cortisol is a key biomarker for physiological stress.
• The relationship between stroke-induced aphasia laterality and cortisol regulation requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the interplay between aphasia and cortisol levels in patients with left-hemisphere (LH) and right-hemisphere (RH) strokes.
• To assess longitudinal changes in language skills and salivary cortisol over three months post-stroke.
• To determine if stroke laterality influences the association between language function and cortisol levels.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study design following 19 LH and 12 RH stroke patients for three months.
• Monthly assessments of language skills using standardized tests.
• Biweekly collection of afternoon salivary cortisol samples.

Main Results:

• Both LH and RH stroke patient groups demonstrated improvements in overall language test scores over the three-month study period.
• Naming abilities in the RH stroke group showed a potential association with afternoon salivary cortisol levels.
• Contrary to some prior research, no significant differences in afternoon salivary cortisol levels were observed between the LH and RH patient groups at any time point.

Conclusions:

• Language function, particularly naming in RH stroke patients, may be influenced by stress biomarkers like cortisol.
• The study suggests that stroke laterality may not significantly impact afternoon salivary cortisol levels, challenging existing literature.
• Further research is warranted to elucidate the complex neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying aphasia recovery and stress response post-stroke.