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Distinct Patterns of Syntactic Errors Doubly Dissociate in Chronic Poststroke Aphasia
Jeremy Yeaton1,2, Danielle Fahey3, Michelle Gomez4,5
1University of California, Irvine.
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience
|August 5, 2026
Summary
Brain damage location impacts specific language errors in aphasia. Lesions in posterior areas cause hierarchical errors, while frontal damage leads to linearization errors, aiding aphasia diagnosis and treatment.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Linguistics
- Neurology
Background:
- The neural underpinnings of syntactic deficits in aphasia are not fully understood.
- Previous research suggests different syntactic error types may link to distinct brain regions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the specific lesion correlates of hierarchical (paragrammatic-like) and linearization (agrammatic-like) syntactic errors in individuals with chronic aphasia.
- To test a two-stage model of syntactic encoding with distinct neural substrates.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of spontaneous speech samples from individuals with chronic aphasia.
- Categorization of syntactic errors into hierarchical and linearization types.
- Lesion-symptom mapping to identify associated brain regions.
Main Results:
- Lesions in the medial superior temporal sulcus and inferior parietal lobe correlated with hierarchical errors.
- Frontal lesions (inferior and middle frontal lobe) correlated with linearization errors.
Conclusions:
- Findings support a two-stage model of syntactic encoding, differentiating hierarchical (posterior temporal-parietal) and linearization (frontal) processes.
- Distinct brain regions underlie different stages of syntactic production in aphasia.
- Results may inform more targeted diagnosis and treatment strategies for aphasia based on lesion patterns.
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