Measuring working memory deficits in aphasia.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Clinical Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Working memory (WM) deficits are common in adults with aphasia.
• Quantifying WM in aphasia is challenging due to the interplay between language and cognition.
• Validated measures are needed to assess WM capacity in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility, reliability, and internal consistency of the n-back task for assessing WM in adults with aphasia.
• To explore how domain-general factors (WM load, reaction time, age) and domain-specific factors (language) influence WM performance in aphasia.
• To determine if the n-back task can reliably differentiate WM capacity between individuals with and without aphasia.

Main Methods:

• Fourteen adults with aphasia and 12 age- and education-matched controls completed n-back tasks.
• Tasks varied in stimulus type (nameable vs. non-nameable) and WM load (0-, 1-, 2-back).
• Data were analyzed to assess performance within and across participants and groups.

Main Results:

• The n-back task demonstrated collective reliability across all tested conditions.
• Both groups showed higher WM accuracy with nameable stimuli compared to non-nameable stimuli.
• Adults with aphasia were significantly more impaired by increasing WM load than controls, with reaction time effects mirroring accuracy patterns.

Conclusions:

• The n-back task is a reliable and feasible tool for assessing working memory in adults with aphasia.
• Findings support the presence of working memory deficits in aphasia.
• The n-back task shows potential for clinical quantification of working memory capacity in individuals with aphasia.