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Nadine Martin, Ph.D. - US grants
Affiliations: | Communication Sciences and Disorders | Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States |
Area:
word processing and short-term memoryWebsite:
http://www.temple.edu/chpsw/faculty/MartinNadine.htmlWe are testing a new system for linking grants to scientists.
The funding information displayed below comes from the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools and the NSF Award Database.The grant data on this page is limited to grants awarded in the United States and is thus partial. It can nonetheless be used to understand how funding patterns influence mentorship networks and vice-versa, which has deep implications on how research is done.
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High-probability grants
According to our matching algorithm, Nadine Martin is the likely recipient of the following grants.Years | Recipients | Code | Title / Keywords | Matching score |
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1994 — 1998 | Martin, Nadine | R29Activity Code Description: Undocumented code - click on the grant title for more information. |
Interactive Processes in Lexical Retrieval @ Temple University This research program aims to further our understanding of processes that mediate language production and the breakdown of those processing aphasia. These broad aims will be addressed in the context of a more central questions in language processing theory that concerns the relation between semantic and phonological representations in lexical retrieval. At issue is whether the flow of information from conceptual to output systems proceeds serially and independently through semantic lexical and phonological retrieval stages, or whether feedback connections between levels of linguistic representation serve to modulate the output of the production system. A second theme of this proposal concerns the relationships between aphasic deficits and normal retrieval operations. One principle objective of the proposed research is to define explicitly the relationship between normal and impaired language function. Thus, to address the issue of interaction vs. independence in lexical retrieval, converging evidence will be sought in both normal and aphasic populations. In Part I experimental paradigms that manipulate the influence of semantic and phonological variables on naming errors and naming time will be used to test assumptions of the interactive model concerning the dynamics of lexical activation including the temporal course of semantic and phonological activation, effects of lexical similarity on substitution errors and word movement errors. In Part II, the model will be tested by examining its ability to account for error patterns in aphasics, including changes in naming and word repetition patterns over the course of recovery. This aspect of the project will involve assembly of a data base of generated errors that will be used in conjunction with computational data to test assumptions of the interactive model developed by Dell. In addition, we will explore relationships between naming, repetition of single words and repetition of strings of words in an attempt to apply the interactive framework to a broader range of phenomena that involve word retrieval. The data from the longitudinal case studies of aphasic patients will be interpreted with respect to their implications for models of normal and impaired language. |
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1999 — 2003 | Martin, Nadine | R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Lexical Retrieval, Verbal Short Term Memory and Learning @ Temple University Almost without exception, acquired language disorders resulting from focal brain injury are accompanied by impairments of verbal short-term memory (STM) and verbal learning. Moreover, disturbances in verbal STM are generally associated with language dysfunction, in some cases mild and not disruptive to most language activities. The co-occurrence of language and mnestic deficits in the aphasic population affords the opportunity to examine their relationships. The hypothesis that motivates this project is that word retrieval, verbal STM and verbal learning are three functions linked by processes that support the activation of linguistic representations. We propose to continue to explore these relationships in the study of language-impaired populations. The long-term goals of this project include (1) development of a computational model that integrates word retrieval, verbal short-term memory and the capacity for verbal learning and (2) application of this approach to the remediation of word retrieval disorders. A common theme of both theoretically- and treatment-oriented experiments is the examination of effects of phonological and semantic impairments on the performance of tasks that involve verbal STM and verbal learning. This approach will contribute to an understanding of the links between language processes and mnestic capacities that are engaged by the use of language materials. |
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2006 — 2010 | Martin, Nadine | R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Lexical Retrieval, Verbal Short-Term Memory and Learning @ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth We will investigate the cognitive organization of word processing, verbal short-term memory (STM) and word learning. These three capacities are fundamental to learning, and their integrity has implications for rehabilitation of neurologically-based language deficits. We propose to continue our studies of the effects of semantic and phonological impairment on language, STM and learning abilities of individuals with aphasia and will extend these analyses to individuals with semantic dementia. Our focus will be on the detrimental effects of semantic impairments on learning and response to treatment in these populations. Semantic impairments are present in both semantic dementia and aphasia but are manifested differently in the two populations. These differences are as yet not fully understood but are broadly characterized as semantic access vs. semantic knowledge impairments. Our goal is to elucidate the behavioral and neuroanatomical features of semantic access and knowledge disorders and the effects of each on word processing, STM and learning. We will obtain behavioral and neuroimaging data (structural MRI scans) on four groups defined by the etiology of their impairment (aphasia, semantic dementia) and locus of disruption within a psycholinguistic model of word processing. Additionally, we will identify factors that stress semantic short- term working memory to test the hypothesis that this factor is at the root of semantic access deficits and that semantic STM deficits are associated with impaired executive functions. In a second project, we will investigate effects of semantic and phonological impairment in aphasia on learning to recognize and produce new words in order to determine how these impairments affect this process. This project is linked to a third ongoing project that investigates priming treatments for word retrieval disorders in aphasia. Here we aim to test the efficacy of a new version of our contextual priming treatment that targets output pathways of naming directly. The cognitive data gathered in these three projects will be brought to bear on the ongioing development of a computational model of verbal STM, word processing and learning. |
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2008 — 2009 | Martin, Nadine | R21Activity Code Description: To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.) |
Remediation of Word Processing and Short-Term Memory Deficits in Aphasia @ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One focus of research in aphasia therapy has been to understand how the content of treatment interacts with impaired word representations (Nettleton &Lesser, 1992) and whether therapy is more effective if its content directly stimulates impaired representations (e.g., semantic therapy for semantic impairments). This focus is important, but does not address the dynamic processes of word retrieval. We propose to investigate an approach to treatment of aphasia that targets the processes by which semantic and phonological representations of words are activated and maintained during comprehension and production of language. This focus is timely, as these activation processes have been described and tested as accounts of aphasic impairment in models of word processing (e.g., Dell, Schwartz, Martin, Saffran &Gagnon, 1997) and verbal short-term memory (STM) deficits in aphasia (Martin &Gupta, 2004). Moreover, recent studies of treatments for auditory-verbal STM deficits in aphasia have invoked these theoretical models as a framework for linking STM deficits with comprehension and production deficits in aphasia (Majerus, van der Kaa, Renard, Vander Linden &Poncelet, 2005). Thus, following models that connect the two deficits by way of the dynamics of activation processes (Martin &Saffran, 1997), we will extend this connection to treatment that focuses on improving the ability to maintain activation of word representations. The project includes two parts. First, we will obtain normative data from aphasic and nonaphasic individuals on a diagnostic battery that assesses the ability to activate and maintain activation of semantic and phonological representations of single and multiple word utterances. Second, we will test the efficacy of a treatment program to improve the ability to activate and maintain activation of semantic and/or phonological representations of single word and multiple word utterances in short-term memory. The efficacy of the treatment will be examined with probes of acquisition and maintenance in a multiple baseline across multiple stimuli design, and with comparisons of pre- and post-test performance on the diagnostic battery and the treatment tasks. This research should have significant benefit to public health. Although language impairments following stroke are often a life-long disability, treatments based on a comprehensive understanding of the language system and its breakdown following brain damage have led to improved language function, even in chronic stages of this disability. This project will examine the efficacy of a diagnostic battery and treatment program for word processing and short-term memory impairments, which invariably co-occur in aphasia. The unique aspect of this program is that it examines and treats word processing deficits in contexts that gradually increase the stress on working memory, thus approximating more closely the conditions in which functional communication occurs. This research should have significant benefit to public health. Although language impairments following stroke are often a life-long disability, treatments based on a comprehensive understanding of the language system and its breakdown following brain damage have led to improved language function, even in chronic stages of this disability. |
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2011 | Martin, Nadine | R21Activity Code Description: To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.) |
Effects of Argument Structure &Processing Load On Sentence Processing in Aphasia @ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Acquired aphasia is a lifelong disability that affects functional communication and consequently, quality of life. We will test the efficacy of a treatment to improve sentence production impairment in nonfluent, agrammatic aphasia, which is characterized by a reliance on content words, paucity of function words, and use of simpler sentence structures. The impairment has been attributed in part to reduced processing capacity which makes it difficult to access syntactic structure during sentence production or comprehension. The treatment method is based on syntactic (or structural) priming, which uses repetition of a sentence with a particular syntactic structure (e.g., passive transitive) to facilitate access to that same structure in subsequent picture description trials that could be described with that same structure. Residual activation of the priming sentence makes it more accessible for a short period, and thereby increases the probability of its being retrieved to describe a pictured scene. This treatment approach can be used regardless of the severity of the sentence production impairment. This is especially noteworthy because there are few treatments for more severe agrammatic aphasia. In this project, we will examine several ways to enhance syntactic priming effects on sentence production in persons with agrammatic aphasia, further increasing its value as a treatment method for this population. First, we will vary semantic and syntactic argument structure of the treatment stimuli in ways that reduce the number of semantic elements to be syntactically encoded but without altering the surface form of the sentence. In Study 1, we aim to show that verb-particle sentences with three semantic elements (The driver is turning off the lights) show more robust priming effects than sentences with prepositional phrases and four semantic elements (The driver is turning off the road). In Study 2, the coherence of verb-object phrases in transitive will be varied to show that transitive with more coherent verb- object phrases (mowing the lawn) show more robust priming effects than those with less coherent verb-object phrases (cooking the soup). We will test the related hypothesis that transitive with coherent verb-object phrases are more effective primes of those without coherent verb-object phrases than vice versa because they are more likely to result in successful production of the priming sentence. In Study 3, we will manipulate the priming procedure using an augmentative communication (AAC) device that allows more time to explicitly process the priming sentence. Potential outcomes of these studies will inform theories of the relationship of short-term memory and sentence processing, providing evidence that agrammatic sentence production is related to reduced processing capacity. They will provide additional evidence that syntactic priming engages implicit learning processes and that the addition of explicit learning procedures enhances the effect. Clinically, these studies will provide evidence that syntactic priming treatments effectively improve sentence production in agrammatic aphasia, even in more severe cases when production is limited to 1-3 word utterances. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Acquired aphasia following stroke or other neurological disease is a lifelong disability that affects functional communication and quality of life. This research program is intended to test the efficacy of a treatment for sentence processing disorders in nonfluent, agrammatic aphasia using an approach that is applicable to mild as well as severe impairments. The outcomes should improve our understanding of the nature of sentence processing deficits in aphasia and methods to improve language function. |
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2012 | Martin, Nadine | R21Activity Code Description: To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.) |
Effects of Argument Structure & Processing Load On Sentence Processing in Aphasia @ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Acquired aphasia is a lifelong disability that affects functional communication and consequently, quality of life. We will test the efficacy of a treatment to improve sentence production impairment in nonfluent, agrammatic aphasia, which is characterized by a reliance on content words, paucity of function words, and use of simpler sentence structures. The impairment has been attributed in part to reduced processing capacity which makes it difficult to access syntactic structure during sentence production or comprehension. The treatment method is based on syntactic (or structural) priming, which uses repetition of a sentence with a particular syntactic structure (e.g., passive transitive) to facilitate access to that same structure in subsequent picture description trials that could be described with that same structure. Residual activation of the priming sentence makes it more accessible for a short period, and thereby increases the probability of its being retrieved to describe a pictured scene. This treatment approach can be used regardless of the severity of the sentence production impairment. This is especially noteworthy because there are few treatments for more severe agrammatic aphasia. In this project, we will examine several ways to enhance syntactic priming effects on sentence production in persons with agrammatic aphasia, further increasing its value as a treatment method for this population. First, we will vary semantic and syntactic argument structure of the treatment stimuli in ways that reduce the number of semantic elements to be syntactically encoded but without altering the surface form of the sentence. In Study 1, we aim to show that verb-particle sentences with three semantic elements (The driver is turning off the lights) show more robust priming effects than sentences with prepositional phrases and four semantic elements (The driver is turning off the road). In Study 2, the coherence of verb-object phrases in transitive will be varied to show that transitive with more coherent verb- object phrases (mowing the lawn) show more robust priming effects than those with less coherent verb-object phrases (cooking the soup). We will test the related hypothesis that transitive with coherent verb-object phrases are more effective primes of those without coherent verb-object phrases than vice versa because they are more likely to result in successful production of the priming sentence. In Study 3, we will manipulate the priming procedure using an augmentative communication (AAC) device that allows more time to explicitly process the priming sentence. Potential outcomes of these studies will inform theories of the relationship of short-term memory and sentence processing, providing evidence that agrammatic sentence production is related to reduced processing capacity. They will provide additional evidence that syntactic priming engages implicit learning processes and that the addition of explicit learning procedures enhances the effect. Clinically, these studies will provide evidence that syntactic priming treatments effectively improve sentence production in agrammatic aphasia, even in more severe cases when production is limited to 1-3 word utterances. |
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2012 — 2013 | Martin, Nadine | R21Activity Code Description: To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.) |
Promoting Functional Communication Abilities in Aphasia With Virtual Reality @ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder that affects the ability to speak and understand spoken language, reading, and writing. Although common in the elderly, it can occur at all ages regardless of race or gender. With improved health care, people are living longer with aphasia, which has implications for quality of life. Thi trend has influenced approaches to aphasia rehabilitation, spurring researchers and clinicians to find ways to supplement direct impairment-based treatments with methods that maximize the potential of people with aphasia (PWA) to use residual language skils in their own environments. Our research team includes investigators with strong expertise in speech pathology, virtual reality, human-machine interfaces, dialogue systems, and speech recognition. Our long-term goal is to provide progressive functional rehabilitation programs through user-friendly software that will transform healthcare delivery by being both economically feasible and accessible to a broad spectrum of the population. The specific aims of this application are to: 1) develop software capable of identifying the language and speech patterns common in aphasia, 2) begin testing human-avatar (virtual human) verbal interactions to implement interactive dialogue with human clients, and 3) compare the quantity and quality of language production in dialogues of virtual clinician-human client dyads and human clinician-human client dyads. We hypothesize that training individuals with aphasia with immediate responses from virtual humans will promote verbal output that is comparable to verbal output when conversing with a clinician in a structured conversational setting. In Aim 1 we extend the customary treatment paradigm of clinician and client role-playing by developing a spoken dialogue system (SDS) that has individually customized acoustic models, language and lexical models, and dialogue structure. The SDS will be integrated with facial animation provided through a virtual clinician. This system will have the capability of recognizing context and sound variation in speech while continuing to present meaningful keywords in order to stimulate the generation of interactive speech by individuals with aphasia. During the software development phase, we will use a 'Wizard of Oz' paradigm that has a computerized image that simulates the speech generated by a hidden human in order to identify a range of conversational variations and key words for the customized software. In Aim 3, we will apply the SDS with the virtual clinician developed in Aim 1. We will evaluate (1) language output in human clinician-client dyads and virtual clinician-client dyads using quantitative and qualitative measures of content, syntax, and morphology, and (2) receptiveness to interaction with the avatar and human clinician with a laboratory-developed questionnaire. Responses during the conversations will be recorded and digitized, and data will be analyzed during baseline and follow-up sessions will be evaluated for appropriate content and structure. Results of these studies have the potential to develop a virtual clinician- human interaction system that can be used independently by people with aphasia to practice and improve functional communication skills. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Aphasia is an acquired communication disorder resulting from brain damage and affecting the ability to speak and understand spoken and written language. Improvements in healthcare have enabled people to live longer with aphasia, which has implications for their quality of life. This application proposes to develop a computer-based treatment approach that promotes use of residual language skills in everyday living situations through client-virtual clinician conversations. |
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2014 — 2016 | Martin, Nadine | R13Activity Code Description: To support recipient sponsored and directed international, national or regional meetings, conferences and workshops. |
Eleanor M. Saffran Conference On Cognitive Neuroscience and Rehabilitation of Com @ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One of the greatest challenges of research on rehabilitation of communication disorders is bridging the gap between basic science and clinical practice. Translation of theories, basic research and laboratory-developed rehabilitation protocols to clinical practice is an ongoing process which is challenged by practical differences between laboratory and clinical settings. For eight years, the Eleanor M. Saffra Cognitive Neuroscience Conference (the Saffran Conference) has aimed to provide a forum in which researchers in basic and applied patient-oriented research, clinical practitioners, academic faculty and students with a common interest in language and other cognitive disorders can share knowledge and skills on each side of the translational 'gap'. This is a one-day conference that includes a morning session devoted to theoretical research in a patient- oriented topic (e.g., reading research) and an afternoon session devoted to applied research in this same area. The afternoon session also includes time for discussion between the presenters and the audience, which includes speech/language pathologists, neuropsychologists, psychologists, neurologists, linguists and students from these various disciplines, all of whom share a common interest in cognitive neuroscience of communication disorders and their rehabilitation. These discussions focus on issues relating to translation of the research to practice. There are two important stages to the implementation process that can be achieved in the context of this conference: (1) Providing education about current theories and practices that are emerging from rehabilitation research and (2) Providing a forum for clinicians and researchers to address the practical considerations involved in translating laboratory developed diagnostic and treatment protocols to clinicl practice. The educational component of this two stage process has been and will continue to be an important contribution of the Saffran conference. To better serve the second stage of research-clinic translation, we are adding a second day to this conference, a workshop devoted to (1) instruction in implementation of diagnostic and treatment research presented at the conference and (2) discussions between practitioners and researchers that focus on generating solutions to difficulties in implementing research generated diagnostic and treatment protocols in a clinical or school setting. This conference is consistently wel-attended by professionals and students nationwide and the feedback has been positive. The addition of the second-day workshop is in direct response to feedback from clinicians expressing a need for more direct instruction in implementing the rehabilitaton protocols presented in the conference. In the past few years, we also have expanded our efforts to include students in this conference with the aim of instilling a translational 'mindset'in these potential researchers and practitioners of the future. As part of this effort, we added a student scholar travel award program last year. Nine awards were made to students from around the country. The feedback from students was very positive, and so we plan to continue this program in the coming years. |
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2014 — 2018 | Martin, Nadine | R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Theory-Driven Treatment of Language and Cognitive Processes in Aphasia @ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth Project Summary This aim of this research is to translate a theory of the cognitive relationship between verbal short-term memory (STM) and word processing impairments in aphasia to treatment approaches for language impairment in aphasia. Aphasia is typically viewed as a language disorder and yet it is invariably accompanied by a reduction in verbal STM capacity. Based on our research of word processing and verbal STM impairments in aphasia, we have proposed that the co-occurrence of these impairments is due to a disruption of cognitive processes that support both abilities: maintenance of activated semantic and phonological representations of words, hereafter the 'activation-maintenance hypothesis' (Martin & Saffran, 1997~ Martin, 2008). We will test this hypothesis in the context of a treatment approach that aims to improve word processing and verbal STM abilities. Recently, the importance of treatment research as a critical testing ground for theories of language processing has been emphasized (Nickels et al., 2010). Although we have demonstrated associations between impairments of word processing and reduced verbal STM capacity, the activation-maintenance hypothesis presumes a causal association between maintenance of activated semantic and phonological representations and the integrity of both word processing and verbal STM. Direct treatment to improve the ability to maintain activation of word representations will serve as a stronger test of this hypothesis. First, we will establish empirical support for the hypothesis that impairment to short-term maintenance of activated semantic and phonological representations of words impairs language and verbal STM abilities in aphasia and that direct treatment of this deficit will improve both abilities (Specific Aim 1). This support will be obtained in a short-term facilitation study and two treatment studies that use repetition of verbal stimuli under conditions that increase memory load. We also predict that increasing memory load in language training tasks will improve performance on the training task (repetition) as well as other language tasks that share processing pathways with repetition. Second, we will compare effects of this treatment under two administration conditions, high and low intensity (Specific aim 2). Recent evidence suggests that language treatments are more effective when administered on more intense schedules (Bhogal et al., 2003), but more evidence is needed from studies that directly compare high and low intensity schedules of treatment. Finally, we will investigate neural regions associated with semantic STM and phonological STM using voxel-based lesion- symptom mapping (Bates et al., 2003) (Specific Aim 3). Following recent functional MRI studies (e.g., Shivde & Thompson-Schill, 2004), we predict that reduced semantic STM will be associated with inferior frontal parietal lesions and reduced phonological STM with lesions in the left superior parietal region. This project represents a unique attempt to apply more recent processing theories of aphasia to treatment of the disorder. The outcomes will have important implications for aphasia rehabilitation research. |
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2015 — 2018 | Chein, Jason [⬀] Newcombe, Nora (co-PI) [⬀] Martin, Nadine |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Mri: Acquisition of a 3-Tesla Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Mri) Scanner For Human Brain Imaging @ Temple University This awards provides support for Temple University under the direction of Principal Investigator Jason Chein to purchase a high-performance 3-Tesla (3T) whole-body Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scanner, required hardware and software. The instrumentation will play a central role in facilitating the establishment of a new,multi-modal, behavioral research imaging center on the Temple University (TU) Main Campus.This scanner will be devoted exclusively to research and research education, serving a large, |
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2017 — 2021 | Martin, Nadine Reilly, James Joseph (co-PI) [⬀] |
R13Activity Code Description: To support recipient sponsored and directed international, national or regional meetings, conferences and workshops. |
@ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth Effective evidence-based clinical practice in the communication sciences and other health professions requires several stages of development from basic science to clinical practice. First, clinical research that generates diagnostic and treatment approaches depends on a sound theoretical foundation. The rehabilitation methods that are generated in clinical research then need to be further translated to a form that facilitates effective implementation in clinical or school settings. The process of knowledge translation to clinical practice faces several challenges, the most obvious of which is the practical differences between laboratory settings where interventions are developed and clinical settings where they are implemented. This conference addresses two other challenges to achieving true evidence based practice: (1) education of clinical practitioners about advances in theoretically and empirically supported rehabilitation methods and (2) communication between researchers and clinical practitioners to better effect implementation of clinical research into practice. For eleven years, the Eleanor M. Saffran Conference on the Cognitive Neuroscience and Rehabilitation of Communication Disorders has provided a forum in which researchers in basic and applied patient-oriented research, clinical practitioners, academic faculty and students with a common interest in language and other cognitive disorders can share knowledge and skills on each side of the translational ?gap?. This annual two-day conference focuses on a single topic relating to a specific language disorder (e.g., sentence processing disorders) or to a more general topic in rehabilitation research (e.g., outcome measures). The first day includes platform papers on current theories and practices emerging from rehabilitation research. The day includes ample time for discussion between the presenters and the audience which includes speech/language pathologists, neuropsychologists, psychologists, neurologists, linguists and students from these various disciplines, who share a common interest in cognitive neuroscience of communication disorders and their rehabilitation. The second day is a workshop that provides a forum for clinicians and researchers to address the practical considerations involved in translating laboratory developed diagnostic and treatment protocols to clinical practice. This component of the conference is unique and provides a real opportunity for researchers and clinicians to participate together in the translation/implementation process. A third important challenge of this conference is to fulfill its mission to extend the educational opportunities that this conference provides to students. We address this challenge in two ways. First, students at all academic levels (undergraduate to post-doctoral) can attend the conference for free. Second, there are ten competitive student scholar travel awards given to students at the doctoral or post-doctoral level. The award includes travel, accommodations, hotel, and a chance to present their research in a poster session on the first day of the conference. This program has been proved to be enormously successful, with awardees coming from across the nation and worldwide. |
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2018 — 2021 | Martin, Nadine | R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Translation and Clinical Implementation of a Test of Language and Short-Term Memory (Stm) in Aphasia @ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth Aphasia is an acquired impairment of language abilities resulting from damage to the left hemisphere from stroke, head trauma or other neurological conditions. It can affect any aspect of spoken and/or written language processing and can range from mild to severe. As language provides us with a unique form of communication, aphasia can have profound adverse effects on one's quality of life. Although aphasia is more common in older populations, it can occur at any age, and many people with aphasia want to find ways to return to their premorbid lifestyles, including active careers, to the extent that this is possible. Clearly, there is a need for effective clinical tools to diagnose and treat aphasia, but a third factor makes the possibility of meeting this need a reality: More than 30 years of rehabilitation research provides strong evidence that even in chronic stages of aphasia, behavioral interventions lead to improved language function and changes in neural activity of cortical areas known to support language. This project aims to translate a theory-driven and empirically supported diagnostic battery for aphasia (Temple Assessment of Language and Short-term memory in Aphasia, TALSA) to a clinically feasible test battery that can be used for screening or in-depth measures of a language impairment. Importantly, the TALSA is based on a theoretical model of language that incorporates a role of verbal short-term memory (STM) in language processing. Language and verbal STM impairments commonly co-occur in aphasia, and this model attributes that co-occurrence to a common impairment of processes that support access and retrieval of words: weak activation and/or the inability to maintain activation of linguistic representations during word processing. This level of diagnosis is needed to guide impairment-based treatment approaches that directly stimulate access and retrieval processes. The TALSA is unique in that it includes language tests that add memory load and processing time, variables which are sensitive to these processing impairments. The research version of the TALSA is administered on a computer but is lengthy and not practical in a clinical setting. Our aim is to develop a computerized adaptive test version for clinical use. This project will use a Milestone based approach to develop this innovative clinical tool. In the first two years, we will develop the clinical version using focus groups and item response theory to identify the best items and subtests to use in the clinical version of this test (Milestone 1). Goals to meet Milestone 2 will include (1) assessment of participating clinicians' views of current and best practices in aphasia rehabilitation and (2) training participating clinicians on the concepts behind the TALSA, as well as specifics about its administration and interpretation. Milestone 3 will involve implementation of the clinical version in the clinical settings and assessment of clinicians' responses to its usefulness and validation of the clinical version, in relation to the original version. Plans for dissemination of the final clinical version of the TALSA will include development of a secured website enabling access to the preliminary version (in Years 3-5) and arrangements for publication of the final version in Year 5. |
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2021 | Martin, Nadine | R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
@ Temple Univ of the Commonwealth PROJECT SUMMARY Aphasia is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write resulting from damage to the left hemisphere from stroke, head trauma or other neurological conditions. Aphasia affects any aspect of spoken and/or written language processing (e.g., comprehension, word retrieval) and can range from mild to severe. Language impairments in aphasia often have profound adverse effects on the individual's quality of life. Existing research efforts in aphasia have led to a wide range of measures, interventions and resultant datasets that yield more precise diagnoses and finely targeted treatment plans. A consequence of this much needed gain in diagnostic precision and treatment specificity has been a preponderance of underpowered single case and case series studies with little consistency of measurements or treatment content across groups, and multiple datasets that lack standardization and interoperability with limited mechanisms for open access and long-term sustainability. Thus, there is a critical need, for a technological infrastructure to support data standardization and aggregation, and collaboration amongst aphasia researchers. We have developed CORE-APHASIA, a biomedical database, knowledge repository, and ?collaboratory? using an open-science platform with an award from the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS). CORE-APHASIA relies on cloud-based open science resource and is timely and complementary to the goals of the parent grant that supports development of a clinical diagnostic tool for aphasia, the Temple Assessment of Language and Short-term memory in Aphasia (TALSA). This proposed project is aligned with NIH's strategic plan for data science, and aims to further advance the data ecosystem for aphasia researchers with a focus on ensuring FAIR- ness (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) and TRUST-worthiness (Transparency, Responsibility, User Focus, Sustainability, and Technology) of CORE-APHASIA. For this proposed project, our primary research objective is to incorporate the FAIR and TRUST principles and processes within our exiting CORE-APHASIA biomedical data repository and ?Collaboratory?. As part of this effort, we will assess and increase the alignment of our CORE-APHASIA data resource to optimize it's impact on the aphasia research community. Our specific aims are 1) achievement of desirable characteristics for data repositories including standardized data vocabularies; 2) establish FAIR-ness of the CORE-TALSA data repository using the 3 prong FAIR-ify standard approach and tools; and 3) establish TRUST-worthiness. Our final deliverable will be an improved more mature data repository that has a system of metrics and processes in place to enhance data sharing, access, and interoperability; increase usage, utility, sustainability and impact of the data resource, and to improve the ability to capture, curate, validate, store, and analyze clinical data in accordance with FAIR-ness and TRUST-worthiness. |
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