Omid Azad,
Volume 7, Issue 4 (2-2020)
Abstract
Metaphores are considered as one of the most common functions of language and due to their abstract meaning, they can be used to study the performance of patients suffering from cognitive deficits. This research aimed at investigating dead and novel metaphor comprehension in Persian-speaking Alzheimer’s patients, and analyzing the role of executive function in this process. This research has taken advantage of co-relational methods. The sample society is composed of 5 Persian-speaking Alzheimer’s patients whose age and education matched healthy controls. To assess patients’ executive abilities and metaphor comprehension, stroop color, clock drawing and metaphor comprehension tests were used respectively. The results showed Alzheimer’s patients’ deficit in metaphor comprehension, particularly in the novel ones. Patients’ performance in metaphor comprehension was related with theirs in stroop color test and clock drawing tests, although this correlation was more significant in the case of novel metaphors. On the one hand, the relationship between patients’ metaphor comprehension and their executive abilities demonstrated that deficit in executive system plays an important role in patients’ poor metaphor comprehension. On the other hand, this highlights the significant role of pre-frontal cortex in metaphor comprehension.
Masoud Dehghan, Nima Moshtaghi,
Volume 9, Issue 1 (3-2021)
Abstract
| The present study aimed at investigating the topic shift in the discourse of the senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type based on neurolinguistics perspective within the framework of Crow's model (1983). The methodological nature of this quantitative research was casual-comparative; and the data include 20 subjects (10 senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type subjects and 10 normal elderly subjects). To determine the severity of dementia, the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale was administered and subjects with a score (0.5 ≤ X< 2) were selected. Then, they answered the questions about their families, daily activities. Moreover, the conversations were recorded and transcribed. The utterances were coded according to Dijkstra et al. model (2004), and they were categorized according to Crow's model (1983). Finally, the statistic results obtained using of independent t-test. The findings indicate significantly different Topic Shift (P=0.001) and Topic Maintenance (P=0.01) in the discourse of both groups that occurred Within Turn and Across Turn. The results showed that topic shift has much more frequency in the senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type subjects’ discourse occurring more often Within Turn. Also, Topic Initiation was Type of Shift having the most frequency, and also the most important Reason for Shift was related to Failure to Continue. |
Arezoo Mojarrad, Esmaeil Sadri Damirchi, Ali Sheykholeslami, Ali Rezaei Sharif, Vahid Abbasi,
Volume 11, Issue 3 (12-2023)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and short-term cognitive rehabilitation protocol on Symptoms of hallucinations and delusions in the elderly with mild Alzheimer's disease. The research method was an extended experiment with two experimental groups and one control group, which was conducted using the pre-test and post-test method. The statistical population included all elderly people over 65 years of age with mild Alzheimer's who had referred to a neurologist in 1401, and among these people, 60 people were selected by available sampling and then randomly. They were assigned in two experimental groups and one control group (20 people in each group). Then, the independent variables of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for 10 sessions of 20 minutes once a week on an experimental group and a short-term cognitive rehabilitation program for 9 sessions (90 minutes each session) It was designed according to the documentary method and based on Luria's (1963) healthy function replacement approach, and after confirming the validity of the content by experts, it was applied to the second experimental group once a week, and no intervention was performed on the third group. After the end of the intervention, the post-test was conducted with an interval of one week on the experimental and control groups. After one month, the studied groups were followed up again. Neuropsychological Questionnaire (NPI) was used to collect data. The results showed that both methods improve hallucination symptoms in the elderly with mild Alzheimer's and there is no significant difference between the effectiveness of these two methods. while they had no significant effect on the delusion variable. Therefore, it can be concluded that both methods can be used to improve hallucinations in the elderly with mild Alzheimer's disease.
