Adult Language Disorders Midterm Key Components 3
Key Components – Module 3
Part 1: Attention
· Give 2 examples of external stimuli
o Walking into a kitchen and smelling bread baking.
o Stubbing your toe on a table as you walk by.
· Give 2 examples of internal stimuli
o Feeling your stomach grumble when you’re hungry
o Feeling full after eating
· Give an example of visual stimuli
o Looking at the sky & seeing it is blue with white clouds.
· Give an example of auditory stimuli
o Dropping my water bottle for the 100th time and it making a loud banging sound as it hits the floor.
· Give an example of Tactile Stimuli
o Going to touch a cute shirt in the store and immediately pulling back because the texture is weird.
· Define olfactory stimuli
o chemical compounds that trigger the sense of smell, or olfaction
· Define gustatory stimuli
o chemical substances that trigger the sensation of taste
· Define capacity limitation
o restrictions on the amount of information or stimuli that can be processed or stored at any given time. These limitations can be structural or energetic, and can affect how people process information, perform tasks, and make decisions.
· Define selection as it related to attention
o the ability to focus on a particular stimulus or activity while ignoring distracting information. It's also known as controlled, directed, or executive attention
· Describe the cocktail party problem.
o In a room full of adults having fun and drinking, you’re trying to listen to someone tell you a story. There is loud music, people talking at all different levels. There are sounds of people walking, laughing, clinking glasses, crunching chips and something dropping (someone is always dropping something). You are trying to listen to your friend tell you this story but you keep mishearing what they’re saying, getting their story mixed up and sometimes not hearing anything they say.
· Name and define the 3 theories of auditory attention.
o Early Filter Theory
§ Irrelevant stimuli are filtered out early in the process of attention
o Filter Attenuation Model
§ Irrelevant stimuli are attenuated but still monitored
o Late Filter theory
§ Slection of target stimuli occurs after the attention process has already began
· Name and define the 2 theories of visual attention.
o Spotlight Theory
§ An object in 1 area of the visual field receives enhanced processing
o Object formation
§ In order to attend to people/things, we gotta use the sensory info available to form perceptual “objects”
· Give an example of a dual-task (or divided attention) process.
o Talking to your spouse while you cook dinner.
· Name and define the 2 theories of capacity limitation.
o Resource allocation theory
§ We flexibly allocate resources from a single cognitive pool of resources to various tasks
o Central bottleneck model
§ Resources must be sequentially – not simultaneously – allocated to various tasks
· What are top-down and bottom-up attention processes?
o Top Down
§ Process/interpret sensory information by using models, ideas, and expectations
o Bottom up
§ Process/interpret sensory information by taking the sensory information, assembling it, and then integrating it.
· Describe the differences between automatic and controlled processing
o Automatic processing occurs without being aware of it (most of the time)
o Automatic processing takes little effort & it is faster
o Controlled processing is deliberate, effortful and requires conscious attention
o Controlled processing is used to do things like solve problems, understand new things, etc… Automatic processing is used when for things like reading words you already know the meaning of.
· Posner & Peterson discuss 3 components of attention: orienting, target detection, and alertness. Describe each, including the 3 mechanisms of orienting.
o Orienting
§ Involves direction of attention toward a specific location.
§ 3 mechanisms:
· Disengaging (detaching attention from a currently focused location)
· Moving (shifting attention to a new location)
· Engaging (fixing attention on a new target)
o Target Detection
§ AKA Executive Control System
§ Involved in the effortful control of attention, including the processes like conflict resolution, and error detection.
o Alertness
§ Ability to prepare for, and sustain alertness to, relevant stimuli
· List and define the 4 components of attention described by Mirsky.
o Focus
§ Fundamental, low-level ability to orient and respond to specific stimuli in any modality
o Sustain
§ Ability to maintain attention to an ongoing, repetitive task for a period of time
o Shift
§ Ability to flexibility adapt attentive focus
o Attention for Outcomes
§ Process by which we connect stimuli (input) with a response to that stimuli (output)
· Explain Sohlberg & Mateer’s updated hierarchal model of attention.
o Sustained
§ Ability to maintain attention during continuous and repetitive activities
· Representative Task: monitoring a spoken list for target words
o Executive Control
§ Selective
· Selectively process information while inhibiting responses to nontarget information
o RT: Listening to a spoken passage in the presence of background noise and/or distracting visual stimuli
§ Alternating
· Ability to shift focus between tasks, stimuli, or response sets; mental flexibility
o RT: Switching back and forth between listening to a spoken passage and reading text
§ Suppression
· Ability to control impulsive responding
o Inhibiting automatic responses during a task; “thinking before acting”
§ Working Memory
· Ability to hold and manipulate information in mind
o Doing math in one’s head
· How does attention relate to TBI?
o People with TBIs can struggle to focus, concentrate and can be easily distracted.
· How does attention relate to Aphasia?
o People with aphasia often experience attention deficits & information processing deficits
· How does attention relate to Dementia?
o Attention is one of the first functions to decline for a person with dementia
Memory
· Define the following terms:
o Encoding
§ the initial process of receiving and interpreting information
· “code the new info into the system
o Storage
§ the process of holding onto that information over time
· “after coding the info, go put it in the storage room”
o Retrieval
§ the act of accessing and bringing that stored information back into conscious awareness when needed
· “go retrieve the information from the storage room”
· What is the role of the hippocampus in memory?
o Storage of new memories & retrieval of old memories
· What kind of memory is stored in the left hemisphere?
o Verbal memory
· What kind of memory is stored in the right hemisphere?
o Visual memory
o Topographical memory
o Nonverbal information
· What is the difference between anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia?
o Anterograde amnesia is the inability to create new memories
o retrograde amnesia is the inability to recall past memories.
· What memory issues might you see following a lesion to the hippocampus and amygdala?
o significant difficulties forming new memories (anterograde amnesia), impaired recall of emotionally charged memories, and potentially problems with associating context and emotional significance to events
· What memory issues might you see following a lesion in the basal ganglia?
o Poor declarative memory
· What is an example of semantic memory?
o Knowing what the word “car” means
· What is an example of episodic memory?
o Remembering your first day of kindergarten
· Describe the types of Implicit/Non-declarative memory.
o Procedural memory
§ Most prominent type, includes motor skills & learned habits
o Priming
§ Being exposed to stimuli and it is affecting you unconsciously
o Classical conditioning
§ Learned associations between different stimuli
· What is the role of the articulatory loop?
o Mental rehearsal system (inner voice)
· What is the role of the visuospatial sketchpad?
o Allows us to create and manipulate mental images
· What is the role of the episodic buffer?
o Temporary storge that integrates information from different sensory inputs
· What does the central executive system do?
o Controls attention and coordinates the cognitive process
· What might you see with disruptions to the central executive or control system?
o difficulty planning, poor impulse control, trouble focusing, problems with task switching, disorganization, impaired decision-making, difficulty initiating tasks, and struggles with working memory
o What could cause these disruptions?
§ ADHD
§ TBI
§ Dementia
§ OCD
§ Stroke
o Which lobe of the brain is responsible for these functions?
§ Frontal lobe, specifically the prefrontal cortex.
Executive Function
· What is executive function?
o Executive functions are a set of core and higher-order cognitive processes that play a critical roles in goal-directed and purposeful behavior
o They assist in planning, organizing, initiating, and adapting effectively and flexibly as the situation demands
· Define the 3 core processes of executive function and give examples.
o Inhibitory Control
§ ability to deliberately control an automatic response
o Working Memory
§ ability to maintain a task or idea in mind and mentally manipulate it
o Cognitive Flexibility
§ ability to move between tasks or goals and react to changing circumstances
· Define the 4 higher-order processes of executive function and give examples.
o Reasoning
§ the process of using existing knowledge to draw conclusions or make decisions
o Problem Solving
§ determining whether there is a problem, identifying specific problem, generating potential solutions, choosing a solution, evaluating the outcome
o Planning
§ thinking about an end goal and determining a course of action to achieve the goal
o Dual- or Multi-Tasking
§ perform two or more tasks at the same time
· What is Metacognition?
o the act of thinking about thinking
o a dynamic process built from prior experiences that affects future actions
o monitors behaviors to determine if goals are met
· Many areas of the brain are involved in executive function, but what is the primary landmark that is involved?
o Pre-frontal cortex
· Describe differences in the way executive dysfunction could impact cognition vs communication.
o Cognition
§ Affects memory, attention & processing speed
o Communication
§ Affects the 5 domains of language
· What 3 skills are associated with social emotional processing?
o Theory of mind
o Emotion recognition
o Emotional empathy
· What is “theory of mind”?
o the cognitive ability to understand that other people have their own thoughts, beliefs, desires, and intentions
· How can executive dysfunction impact discourse?
o failure to address the perspective of others
o reduced comprehension of social implications
o inaccurate or poorly structured discourse
o disinhibited communication behaviors
o difficulty responding to open-ended questions
o lack of macrostructure, cohesion, and informativeness
· In what ways does executive function manifest in TBI, Right hemisphere stroke, and left hemisphere stroke?
o Difficulty in conversational tasks
o Difficulty in narrative discourse tasks
· What impact does executive dysfunction have on Aphasia recovery?
o difficult for individuals to actively participate in therapy, follow instructions, manage their own communication strategies, and adapt to changing situations during rehabilitation
· How can executive dysfunction impact quality of life?
o It can lower quality of life