Making Words Matter: Exploring Abstract and Concrete Word Processing in People with Aphasia
Research Poster Social & Behavioral Sciences 2025 Graduate ExhibitionPresentation by Anna Serrichio
Exhibition Number 95
Abstract
A defining characteristic of aphasia, an acquired language disorder often caused by left hemisphere stroke, is anomia, or difficulty with word retrieval. A thorough understanding of the nature and mechanisms of lexical-semantic processing in aphasia is crucial for better understanding word retrieval and how to target it in language treatments. One relevant aspect of lexical-semantic processing is the concreteness effect, which is a well-documented phenomenon in which concrete words are processed more easily and efficiently than abstract words. Previous studies have suggested that people with aphasia (PWA) may demonstrate an exaggerated concreteness effect compared to an age-matched, neurologically intact comparison (NIC) group. However, these studies had small sample sizes, and little is known about how the concreteness effect may vary across receptive and expressive language, two abilities necessary for everyday communication that are often impacted by aphasia. Here, we investigated the strength of the concreteness effect in a relatively large sample size of PWA (n = 42) and NIC (n = 46) in receptive and expressive language measures, and examined the association between the strength of the concreteness effect and aphasia severity. We found that PWA had larger concreteness effects compared to the NIC group, and that concreteness effects were larger in expressive language measures than in receptive language measures. In addition, larger concreteness effects in PWA were associated with more severe aphasia. These findings add to our understanding of lexical-semantic processing in aphasia and have important clinical implications for the development of rehabilitation approaches targeting word retrieval in aphasia.
Importance
The loss of language function that occurs in individuals with aphasia can have profound negative impacts on their overall wellbeing and quality of life. Furthermore, language treatments can only target a limited number of words—far fewer than the tens of thousands used in daily life. Therefore, optimizing target word selection is crucial for maximizing functional communication gains. This study examines word concreteness, an important factor in treatment, as abstract words are as common as concrete words in conversation, yet most naming therapies focus on concrete words. It explores the nature of abstract and concrete word processing in aphasia and its relationship to aphasia severity. Findings can be used to inform treatment strategies to support more effective communication.