Sign language, pantomime, and gestural processing in aphasic persons: a review.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Linguistics
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Aphasia often results in significant spoken language deficits.
• Recovery of spoken language skills in aphasia can be limited.
• Alternative communication methods are crucial for many individuals with aphasia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the potential for individuals with aphasia to acquire manual communication systems.
• To compare visuomotor and auditory-vocal processing abilities in aphasic subjects.
• To contribute to the understanding of symbolic deficits in aphasia.

Main Methods:

• Review of studies on pantomime recognition and production.
• Analysis of spontaneous gestural production in aphasic individuals.
• Examination of outcomes from manual language training in aphasia.

Main Results:

• Aphasic subjects demonstrated preserved abilities in aspects of manual communication.
• Visuomotor processing appeared less impaired than auditory-vocal processing in the studied subjects.
• Performance varied across different tasks within manual communication systems.

Conclusions:

• Individuals with aphasia may retain capacity for learning manual communication.
• Findings suggest a potential dissociation between auditory-vocal and visuomotor processing in aphasia.
• The results do not definitively resolve the debate on central symbolic deficits in aphasia.